F1 2019

[Nat]

Good result for Lewis on Pole, although the way he cheered anyone would have thought he'd won the race. VB sounded like Rosberg a couple of years ago so maybe he really does want to win this year? Maybe Rosberg is this years mentor for him?

I totally agree with the above statements. Ferrari really are throwing both there drivers down the road (especially CL) - Red Bull must be laughing their heads off unlike CL ....

 

[GeeJayW]

Good result for Lewis on Pole, although the way he cheered anyone would have thought he'd won the race. VB sounded like Rosberg a couple of years ago so maybe he really does want to win this year? Maybe Rosberg is this years mentor for him?

I totally agree with the above statements. Ferrari really are throwing both there drivers down the road (especially CL) - Red Bull must be laughing their heads off unlike CL ....

I think the drivers get so wound up in qually, Lewis' reaction was just the lid blowing off perhaps compounded by his feelings about Niki. Hurling an F1 car around Monaco at 11 10ths must be completely mind blowing.

As for VB; this year is his chance to win a championship and he is driving brilliantly so far. Good luck to him, as long as he doesn't play games like Nico did, I'd be happy to see him win the F1 crown.

Red Bull are definitely poised to pick up the pieces left by Ferrari who really must up their game.

 

[Brian k]

I thought I noticed this at the end of the last race..... but I saw it again in the post qualifying interviews today..... Has Max Verstappen suddenly matured ?
Mad Max seems to have all but disappeared and I have to say I’m impressed. I’d love to see him in a Mercedes with LH ..... then we’d see some proper wheel to wheel stuff.

 

[AMGeed]

A few observations after qualifying.

Ferrari really need to get on top of strategy and quickly. Even if it means new recruitment. They really are letting down both their drivers.
Is it me, or is Seb looking increasingly ragged? He is making the kind of mistakes he never made earlier in his career. Pressure from within as well as fighting MB and Red Bull?

Honda have upped their game it seems and although MB and Ferrari have more HP, on tracks like Monaco, both Verstappen and Gasly are very close. Even the Torro Rosso's are more competitive than the works Renault. Have McLaren jumped too soon again!

Danny Ric must be gutted leaving Red Bull. He is watching his career slowly fade in a reallly uncompetitive car. Shame as he has the talent to be at the top consistantly in a decent car.

Now VB is finally performing in the Mercedes, where does that leave Esteban Ocon? He was shoe in for a seat next season at MB it seemed.

Finally, I think Lewis showed his emotion at qualifying in front. At Monaco, of all places its vital to be on the front row. Being on pole , its his to lose tomorrow.
I wonder if the weather will make it interesting, otherwise I fear another procession.

 

[Bellow]

I think the drivers get so wound up in qually, Lewis' reaction was just the lid blowing off perhaps compounded by his feelings about Niki. Hurling an F1 car around Monaco at 11 10ths must be completely mind blowing.
.

Read a (newspaper) article yesterday that said of Niki Lauda's 1975 pole lap that it ''left him trembling at its conclusion''. Enough said.

I thought I noticed this at the end of the last race..... but I saw it again in the post qualifying interviews today..... Has Max Verstappen suddenly matured ?

He's realised he goes faster with his mouth shut.
He is I think a different guy this season - and the better for it.

Observation from me if I heard correctly - four Honda engined cars in the top ten. Double what any of the other engine manufacturers achieved. Maybe, Monaco not being an absolute power circuit helped?

 

[GeeJayW]

I hope Honda have turned the corner with their power unit.

 

[Bellow]

I hope Honda have turned the corner with their power unit.

Plenty corners at Monaco to turn - where Honda are on the straights will tell the truth of where they are! Maybe, they are sneaking up on the pace of the others. Montreal (next?) should surely provide an answer.

 

[Dryce]

Ferrari really need to get on top of strategy and quickly. Even if it means new recruitment. They really are letting down both their drivers.
Is it me, or is Seb looking increasingly ragged? He is making the kind of mistakes he never made earlier in his career. Pressure from within as well as fighting MB and Red Bull?

I think SV has always been vulnerable unless he's in a sweet spot as far as the car and team are concerned. The team mate situation and the team situation are exacerbating it.

Have McLaren jumped too soon again!

That's hard to judge because the chemistry between McLaren and Honda never seeme to sort itself out. I think they had to jump last year to figure that they had to sort themselves out instead of pointing the finger at Honda and acting like everything would have been OK had it not been for the engine.

Danny Ric must be gutted leaving Red Bull. He is watching his career slowly fade in a reallly uncompetitive car. Shame as he has the talent to be at the top consistantly in a decent car.

Part of the reason we're seeing MV looking more sensible is that DR is out of the way and he's unequivocal No 1 driver (regardless of what might be said by the team).

I think DR got suckered into Renault but had had no future at RB. So where else? Good driver - viable WDC contender in the right machinery - but surplus to requirements as far as the frontrunning teams are concerned.

Now VB is finally performing in the Mercedes, where does that leave Esteban Ocon? He was shoe in for a seat next season at MB it seemed.

Ocon's presence in the wings ready to go seems quite a motivating factor for VB.

I wonder if the weather will make it interesting, otherwise I fear another procession.

If I was RB I'd just tell MV to just totally go for it at the start - take the risk that you take some damage and get pushed to the back or have to retire. All or nothing.

 

[Dryce]

I thought I noticed this at the end of the last race..... but I saw it again in the post qualifying interviews today..... Has Max Verstappen suddenly matured ?
Mad Max seems to have all but disappeared and I have to say I’m impressed. I’d love to see him in a Mercedes with LH ..... then we’d see some proper wheel to wheel stuff.

He's established himself as Number 1 in the team now that DR has gone. So no reason to play up unless Gasly starts to get too close to him.

You might think that RB have had a word with him over the winter. And then he's another year older. But. I suspect there is also a corporate aspect - now established with RB if things go well with Honda then there's a potential long term relationship with them too. Then there's F1 committing to Zandervoot. His brand power is really coming together - so he's a becoming more corporate than before.

 

[grober]

 

[Steveml63]

That was quite an exciting end to that race - for a change!

 

[Nat]

That was quite an exciting end to that race - for a change!

Agreed, although I did think MV penalty was lenient but he did look to have driven well.

On a side note. LH now has 77 wins and Schumacher currently tops it with 91. It looks like just a matter when and not if when he can exceed that.

 

[GeeJayW]

Defending around Monaco on chewing gum tyres must be pretty stressful...

 

[Neiltodd]

Still no overtaking though

 

[GeeJayW]

Still no overtaking though

LeClerc's pass on Grosjean(?) was pretty good. His attempt on Hulkenburg rather less so. Overtaking at Monaco has always been rather difficult.

 

[Mactech]

I was intrigued to hear Lewis talk about running on 'empty' tyres for such a long period of the race. He means all the 'juice' has been taken out of them, and is really a a very good description of what happens to tyres as they go through chemical changes as they are used.
Heat, sunlight and age has the same effect on all tyres although not quite as quickly as the race tyres used in anger in F1.
The very same applies to all road tyres, and whilst they may have tread left, it certainly does not mean they have grip. seven years is the recommended life of a road tyre and the grip degrades hugely after that. That's why date marking was introduced.
Couple of years ago I did a road test for a magazine on a concours XJ220 with very few miles on it. It drove perfectly except the tyres were 20 years old and they displayed all the grip of a cat on wet Lino.
Problem is, most people will only find that out in an emergency situation.

 

[Deleted member 126251]

That was quite an exciting end to that race - for a change!

I've given up watching F1 but, Hamilton slowing down the field to save his tyres on a procession (no passing) circuit must have been as exciting as watching paint dry.

 

[GeeJayW]

I've given up watching F1 but, Hamilton slowing down the field to save his tyres on a procession (no passing) circuit must have been as exciting as watching paint dry.

Given that you didn't watch it, that's an interesting assertion...

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Given that you didn't watch it, that's an interesting assertion...

My son watched it and was telling me about it - I saw the last 15min when I arrived at his house yesterday ..................and I do read...

 

[bob6600]

Max's penalty was too lenient. Unsafe release and causing damage to another car. Bottas lost 2nd place due to Max. I commend him for chasing Lewis until the end but again he was lucky Lewis took the escape road otherwise he may have ended both of their races with a lap to go.
First time Mercedes made a bad strategy call and if it wasn't Monaco, they wouldn't have gotten away with it.

LeClerc - he has had bad luck this season and his team making a very bad call in Q1 left him in 15th place. He had to go for it and great first overtake. The 2nd was a good shout but when he got the flat tyre he threw the race away be speeding back and destroying his floor.