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F1 2019

I think it was a hard, but fair outcome.
Pirro is a top bloke, I've run him at Macau and Le Mans and he is very experienced and very rational....and put between a rock and hard place.
He is also Italian, so little chance of a nationalistic bias.
Just hope he doesn't wake up with a prancing horses's head beside him in bed....:confused:
 
Nat said:
What a poor decision to penalise SV.
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I'm retracting what I typed earlier after seeing numerous video clips of it and agree that although the penalty seemed harsh at the time that SV did rejoin the track in an unsafe manner. Fair and square win to LH.
 
Yes Nat if it was not for that overhead camera which shows quiet clearly that he moved right to stop Hamilton he might not of got a penalty,lets hope Ferrari keep there cars running like this we might get a F1 season worth watching.
 
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Did the stewards penalise as matter of course or because Mercedes lodged a protest?
 
Mactech said:
I think it was a hard, but fair outcome.
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I agree. I can also understand why Vettel feels hard done by, because I don't think he was deliberately trying to block Hamilton, rather he was to an extent a passenger when he rejoined the track - but that's why the penalty is correct.

Looking at the footage, once he rejoined the track I don't think Vettel had any option but to try to catch the rear end by steering to the right which had the effect of squeezing Hamilton. The issue was completely of his own making though, as he made the error which led to him going over the grass. It's understandable that he wanted to retain position so he kept his boot in, but as above that meant he was effectively a passenger - and thus not in control - when he rejoined the track. By definition, if he wasn't in control then the act was dangerous and it's a slam dunk for a penalty.

On a broader note, I think the penalty (and I don't mean the one retrospectively applied by the Stewards after the event) for leaving the track has become artificially low over the years due to the massive run-off areas which means that unless you're unfortunate enough to beach the car, you pretty much carry on. Perhaps if leaving the track meant ending your race like it used to do years ago, drivers would be a little more circumspect about running kerbs and risking departing the tarmac?
 
Bellow said:
Did the stewards penalise as matter of course or because Mercedes lodged a protest?
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They may have reviewed/assessed the incident following a protest from Mercedes, but (hopefully) awarded the penalty based on the evidence with respect to the rules and the precedent at Japan last year.
 
GeeJayW said:
They may have reviewed/assessed the incident following a protest from Mercedes, but (hopefully) awarded the penalty based on the evidence with respect to the rules and the precedent at Japan last year.
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Agreed, if the evidence is there....
But there seemed a readiness from Mercedes to protest and win by a technicality when the grandstands were full of people who turned up to watch racing.
If it can be said that SV did have at least some control over where his car was headed then equally it can be said that LH aimed for an obviously decreasing gap and then had to brake. I could drive straight at a brick wall and then brake at then last moment to avoid hitting it but it won't be the wall's fault that I had to brake.
Why pull the other guy up onto the top step of the podium if you genuinely feel you won the race fair and square?
 
Ferrari would have similarly protested had it been the other way around.

Edit - I think Lewis would have preferred to win by overtaking on-track and may have achieved that had he not been compromised by the incident in question. In the end, the stewards assessed the evidence and awarded a penalty pursuant with the regulations. I also think it was maybe a bit harsh on Seb, who apart from that error (actually the crucial point), drove a great race.
 
Bellow said:
...then equally it can be said that LH aimed for an obviously decreasing gap and then had to brake.
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Looked to me as though Hamilton was following the regular racing line though there, so he would have had to tighten his exit of the left-hander if he anticipated that Vettel was going to cut across him. If Vettel had then not drifted to the outside but had instead rejoined the track in control and kept off the racing line (which the rules require) then Hamilton would have rear-ended him.
 
From the BBC

It is often said that the stewards are not consistent in their decisions. But this incident was remarkably similar to one in last year's Japanese Grand Prix, when Red Bull driver Max Verstappen rejoined after a mistake at the chicane and pushed Vettel's then team-mate Kimi Raikkonen wide. Verstappen was given a five-second penalty.

Vettel said then: "Look at [the incident with] Kimi, [Verstappen]'s off the track and he comes back and if Kimi just drives on they'd collide. But it's not always right that the other guy has to move. We're all racing, the race is long."
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Lewis has been hypocritical here.

He spends his time saying that driving these cars is too easy, evidenced by junior series drives being put in the fast cars for testing and being top of the times, and they should be harder with more wheel to wheel access. First sign of what would happen if the cars were harder to drive and he's "please sir, he made me brake and stopped me passing when out of control".

Then on the grid, despite asking for the penalty, he pulls Seb up onto the top step to try to make it look like he didn't believe the penalty was right in order to appease the fans jeering him.

Yes, you expect the team to protest, but Lewis was the first to ask for it.

They need to use the rules for what they should be intended (bolting back on to the track into someone's path when under control like around the bollards they put in place) and let them race, make mistakes, and entertain / enjoy their racing.

They should watch MotoGP / WSBK for how to apply the rules better. Make a bad lunge and take your opponent out, expect to get penalised. Otherwise rubbing is racing.
 
I'm going to speculate as to cause of Vettels off was partly technical. Shortly before that Ferrari had issued a statement from the pits concerning altering a setting/settings on the wheel. On CHANNEL 4's coverage DC offered that this was to alter some brake settings to alleviate brake overheating which is a known phenomenon at Montreal. This might cause problems sooner in a team relying on superior top speed for a competitive advantage because with higher speeds comes the need for greater retardation? Perhaps Vettels car had altered braking characteristics at that point in the race? An illustration that pole position doesn't always translate to race pace?
ps
doesn't alter my opinion on the decision mind.;)
 
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Initially I thought Vettel was at fault as he almost caused a collision when rejoining the track. This was avoided because Lewis braked hard, nut should he have needed to? No.
The flip side is Vettel had a snap and couldn't keep it to the left of the track at that speed. Should he have slowed down then to gain more control? Maybe, but then Lewis would be ahead.

Overall, a harsh decision but Vettel left the track and rejoined causing Lewis to brake hard and thus not being able to overtake him.

Respect to Vettel afterwards stating that Lewis should not get Boo'd because it was not his decision or fault.
 
400ixl said:
Lewis has been hypocritical here.

He spends his time saying that driving these cars is too easy, evidenced by junior series drives being put in the fast cars for testing and being top of the times, and they should be harder with more wheel to wheel access. First sign of what would happen if the cars were harder to drive and he's "please sir, he made me brake and stopped me passing when out of control".

Then on the grid, despite asking for the penalty, he pulls Seb up onto the top step to try to make it look like he didn't believe the penalty was right in order to appease the fans jeering him.

Yes, you expect the team to protest, but Lewis was the first to ask for it.

They need to use the rules for what they should be intended (bolting back on to the track into someone's path when under control like around the bollards they put in place) and let them race, make mistakes, and entertain / enjoy their racing.

They should watch MotoGP / WSBK for how to apply the rules better. Make a bad lunge and take your opponent out, expect to get penalised. Otherwise rubbing is racing.
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I don't think Lewis is any more or less of a hypocrite than any if the other drivers including Seb, who not least has in the past been heard swearing at Charlie Whiting over the radio...

MotoGP, WSBK and BSB are superb to watch, but they are very different to F1 as bikes are not reliant on aerodynamic downforce.
 
I thought SV was initially joining the track on the inside then moved onto the racing line. Whether this was to control the car only he will know. I think the fairest way would have been for the stewarts to instruct SV to give LH the position then the pair of them could have fought it out till the end
 
Harrythedog said:
I thought SV was initially joining the track on the inside then moved onto the racing line. Whether this was to control the car only he will know. I think the fairest way would have been for the stewarts to instruct SV to give LH the position then the pair of them could have fought it out till the end
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Not sure the stewards can instruct the driver to give up a place. Had the Ferrari pitwall had their thinking-caps on, they could have asked Seb to let Lewis through which may have assuaged the stewards. Though maybe not as the penalty seems to be for rejoining the track in a dangerous manner rather than for example gaining an advantage by leaving the track.
 
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