The F1 thread

[Wrathbone]

It’s not just a gentleman’s agreement, it’s in the rules. You can make one defensive move before a corner. I’d need to rewatch LeClerc’s moves to see if it counted as weaving, but it felt like he was. It felt like he got away with a lot to get that win. I have to wonder if Fat Tony was sat in the stewards’ box in a red shirt.

[DjchunKfunK]

I'm still not convinced by that assessment of Vettel; I remember him having a staggeringly good fight with Alonso at Silverstone when Seb was still at Red Bull (it was the first of the turbo-hybrid years when Red Bull fell from grace, so he wasn't really in a superior car), so I know he's still capable of racing in less-than-class-leading equipment. I just think his skills have declined after five years of battling Mercedes dominance. I just wonder whether his heart's in it anymore; he was clearly downtrodden after Canada this year, and I think a victory would do him a world of good. Personally I don't think he's going to continue in F1 after his current contract ends, or at the most he'll see whether the regulations shake the status quo in 2021 and make his decision then.

Sure he can pull out the odd battling win but he has never been able to do it consistently.

[Raid]

I think that's just the nature of the sport, there aren't many opportunities to show off those sorts of skills. Look at Alonso; how many real fights did he have after he rejoined McLaren? You need to be in the right car in the right conditions on the same strategy.

I think Seb is better than a lot give him credit for (his championships were heavily dependent on having a great car afterall), but I've never quite put him up there with the best of his era.

[Wrathbone]

His performance seems to have been on a downwards trajectory for several years, whereas Hamilton has upped his game significantly. I don't believe his heart is 100% in it anymore, and he's so clearly self-aware of his mistakes and of LeClerc's impact on the team that I can't see him coming back from it. It's hard to feel sorry for him after yesterday's blunder - mistakes happen, but the way he rejoined the track was dangerous and beyond stupid, especially considering it was something similar which killed Hubert. You'd think due caution would be at the forefront of his mind.

[DjchunKfunK]

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/ ... es-leclerc

This doesn't really clear anything up and makes the whole issue around squeezing opponents off the track even less clear.

[Wrathbone]

It's an uneven application of the rules, and it's going to lead to someone causing an accident to prove a point.

In more entertaining news, Vettel now has 9 F1 penalty points from the last 12 months, and a total of 12 would give him a race ban. To put that in perspective, Maldonado only received 5 points in 2014 and 6 points in 2015.

[Raid]

It's hard to feel sorry for him after yesterday's blunder - mistakes happen, but the way he rejoined the track was dangerous and beyond stupid, especially considering it was something similar which killed Hubert. You'd think due caution would be at the forefront of his mind.

I don't know enough details about the Hubert crash, but even without the recent fatality it was a bloody stupid way to rejoin. A brief google suggests cars are doing 180kph at the spot Vettel rejoined, and as good as F1 safety cells are, a side impact at that speed could be fatal. Now it's very likely that Vettel couldn't have seen the entry point of Ascari and thus had no idea that Stroll was approaching, but the correct way to rejoin in that situation is to await the assistance of a marshal to let you know when it's safe. While I can understand that this could be a race-ruining length of time to wait, that's absolutely no excuse. Clearly the frustration of having two consecutive Italian GPs ruined while driving for Ferrari got the better of him. It's just not good enough for a four time world champion.

[Mogster]

Tbh I couldn’t believe it when he just instantly pulled back onto the track. My first thought was it deserved a ban... then Lance did exactly the same thing... Bizarre.

They seem to talk almost constantly to the pit wall, the pit wall have GPS driver tracking available, they use it to plan pit stops. I can accept it’s hard to see out of these things, couldn’t he have pressed the radio button and asked “am I clear”. But then of course he’d probably have had to wait for the whole field to pass, for a guy with a young family it was an appalling risk to take. Hubert’s crash showed how bad bashing survival cells together can be.

[Wrathbone]

He could have turned his car a bit on the grass to be able to check his mirrors, or tried any of the other various options available to him. There’s really no excuse for that level of recklessness. And Stroll is arguably worse for doing the exact same thing moments after being a victim of the same stupidity.

[Rossell]

I think the penalty points disappear after 12 months so I read last night he has to e a good boy until suzuka.

Also the hilarity with Haas and Rich Energy has come to an end as they've terminated their sponsorship.

[Raid]

Stroll did at least earn back some respect by saying after the race that his penalty shouldn't have been more lenient than Vettel's given they both did the same stupid thing.

[Mogster]

Pirelli are testing the 2021 low profile 18 inch wheels & tyres. Looks good I think, contemporary Although I do think the black wheel and tyre possibly disguises the change somewhat.

Not a particular fan of Sirotkin but it’s always good to see drivers who haven’t managed to secure a race seat still being involved in the sport.

[Raid]

I'm interested to see how the teams build their cars to deal with the increased wheel size. For those that don't know, the tyre wall is a key part of a car's suspension, and it's one of the reasons the sport hasn't moved to a far more contemporary style of tyre. I wouldn't be too surprised if cars didn't ride the kerbs as well as they do now, at least in the first year.

[Raid]

Exactly what dirt does Grosjean have on Gene Haas or Gunther Steiner?

https://www.racefans.net/2019/09/19/gro ... -for-2020/

[Rossell]

Drive to Survive s2 is going to be the bomb put it that way.