F1 2019

[bob6600]

Haas chief Guenther Steiner fined over Russian GP radio criticism

 

[Nat]

Yep Qualy will be at 2am UK time and the race start 6.10am. If Qualy does not go ahead on Sunday morning then the FP2 results will be the starting grid

That'll make things interesting. Radio message to VB - Lewis is faster than you. You need to let him pass?

 

[grober]

All circuit activity on Saturday cancelled.
Qualifying is set to be run on Sunday morning at 10:00 local time (02:00 BST), with the race as scheduled at 14:10 (06:10).

Japanese Grand Prix: Typhoon Hagibis hits as Mercedes eye Formula 1 history

 

[anglaslt]

What a bizarre race strategy by Mercedes. Admittedly I watched the race on a German channel (and I don't understand German) but I could see no reason why Hamilton was called in for a late tyre change to give up the lead when his tyres were still at 70% and in good condition. They were even better than Vettel's. What did I miss or was it let's be nice to Valtteri day?

 

[Nat]

Two things that made me scratch my head were SV's jump start that was apparently within FIA's tolerance and Merc pitting LH. Both odd.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

I thought Hamilton came across over the radio and with his body language at the end as a rather spoilt brat.

Ironic that Max was complaining about the crash at the start.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Two things that made me scratch my head were SV's jump start that was apparently within FIA's tolerance and Merc pitting LH. Both odd.

add to that that CL-C was allowed to drive for two laps with a loose/flapping front wing that eventually broke free and smashed LH’s wing mirror off.

Very strange scenes in the cool down room after the race considering LH’s beloved team had just clinched the constructors & drivers titles.

However, totally enjoyed the race. Lots of action throughout the field. Solid drive again from CS for McLaren.

Shame for Norris being bashed by Albon but glad that the Stewards are allowing old fashioned hard racing (although that incident was right on the edge IMO)

 

[GeeJayW]

Yes, definitely an odd race. VB drove really well this weekend and deserved the win, though I thought LH may have been able to win with a one-stopper. Pretty sure Lewis felt the same way, but James Allison says not... As it is Lewis did his spoilt brat impression (which may just be what disappointment looks like), but I guess it will be gloves off between LH and VB for the remaining races.

Seb made a jump start. Charles was clumsy into turn 2 and should have come in to have a flapping front wing changed. Lucky it only knocked Lewis' wing mirror off.

Yes, very odd.

 

[bob6600]

Well done to VB, he deserved the win. Clean start and didn't put a foot wrong. Would have been cruel if Mercedes had potentially taken the win off him but keeping Lewis out. Having said that, why did they pit him? Looking for to the debrief they usually put out.

Max...didn't do anything wrong but moaned and moaned (ironically) as if the show was on the other foot, he would have given the 'hard racing' speech.

Seb's jump start was strange as it is usually a slam dunk penalty however was deemed in tolerance, as was Bottas's lightning start a year or two ago.

Leclerc has been given 2 penalties - 5 sec for causing a collision and 10 seconds for continuing to drive with a damaged car...but where was the black and orange flags? That pushed him down to 7th.

There was also an error where the race finished a lap early (due to error) and so Perez keeps his point's finish even though he crashed on the 'last' lap.

Finally, congratulations on Mercedes for a record breaking 6th consecutive double championship. Constructor's title wrapped up and only LH or VB can win the driver's title, although we all know it will go to Lewis.

 

[Mactech]

50032379
Just how good have Mercedes GP team been in the last 6 years and why?

 

[aj_clc]

yeah the FIA i think are in a bit of turmoil over penalties - the first incident with CLC came up on the screen as "no further action" - then they did, but not until post race - which again is strange as they were not very busy during the race - they really have to sort it out, especially for the fans - its becoming an embarassing - a bit like a few years ago when in one race they were not allowed to use the radio to give the driver instructions then because everyone hated it and cars were going backwards with minor things that should be changed on the wheel , the next race it was allowed again - IIRC Rosberg did something on his wheel, and they lapped around for a while with him slow and they decided to just tell him so he got hit with a penalty, then the next race the FIA reversed its decision for the ban but not his penalty! crazy

CLC i think got his front aero washed out when vettel cut across his front and he slid out - but i think CLC was just going in a little too fast for that corner anyway

LH - he seems to forget that there has been many many times Mercedes strategy has won him races , but his "if i dont win a race its because of some one elses fault" attitude is growing thin at his age - take it on the chin, realise he should have done a better Qualy , and also realise that sometimes your teammate thats been supporting you all year and scrubbed his own races / positions for you , deserves a win and be happy for him publicly before throwing your toys out the pram.

 

[grober]

Hamilton fumes at three Mercedes errors as Bottas wins in Japan

I'm going to propose a scenario here where the 2 Mercedes team drivers start with equal status pre race but where the no 1 and no 2 roles are dynamically determined during the first few laps of the race/ qualifying . As the no2 or "wingman" the driver designated as such for the race in question may be called on to perform what is termed "running interference for the quarterback" in the later stages of the race. In other words their role is primarily to prevent the opposition from winning rather than winning themselves - getting placed is a bonus. While not making much sense to Hamilton the team strategy which disadvantaged him may have helped Bottas to win by forcing Ferrari to change their strategy to cover Hamilton ?? Today Hamilton was maybe cast in the role of no 2 and didn't like it much, possibly forgetting that some of his wins might have been down to Bottas " race strategy" in past races. This dynamic approach places the "only one no 1 driver in the team approach" adopted by other teams at a disadvantage because its less easy to predict and the " no1 driver model " tends to fall down when their no 2 driver consistently turns in faster times than their no 1!
In other words in each race both Mercedes drivers start with equal priority in terms of team tactics- till they don't. I should add that these no1/no2 roles may change several times during the race depending on events.

 

[Nat]

add to that that CL-C was allowed to drive for two laps with a loose/flapping front wing that eventually broke free and smashed LH’s wing mirror off.

Somehow I missed that the first time around but saw it on the highlights. I'm amazed CLC wasn't flagged before his car started losing bits and LH was extremely lucky as that could have been a lot worse.

Reference other posts - Didn't LH win the race last year on a one stop strategy? Maybe Merc stategists backed whoever was out in front first but equally LH could have won if they never pitted him the 2nd time. I'd have thought wrapping up the WDC would have been a priority at this stage leaving them free to race after LH had secured it. Either way it was an odd decision ust like some recent other decisions Merc have made.

It's clear to see how quick Ferrari are down the straights again.

 

[aj_clc]

Yeah that Merc of LH in the DRS could not catch Ferrari on the straight - thats some serious power there!
Again though i think the way Mercs and Ferrari cars behave in dirty air shows they are clearly struggling when out of position or trying to follow without any massive tyre deficit - i thought Brawns new aero changes this year was supposed to negate that ...

The other 2 teams who seem to be the opposite of this is RBR who always seem to build a car that can follow in dirty air and can be placed almost anywhere on the track with the driver still feeling a lot of confidence - and now McLaren who are rock solid team #4

 

[Nat]

McLaren have pretty impressive this season. I'm looking forward to Williams making some major improvements soon as they seem to have lost there way for one reason or another - I've always had a soft spot for both of these teams and would like them both to do really well.

 

[Dryce]

As the no2 or "wingman" the driver designated as such for the race in question may be called on to perform what is termed "running interference for the quarterback" in the later stages of the race. In other words their role is primarily to prevent the opposition from winning rather than winning themselves - getting placed is a bonus. While not making much sense to Hamilton the team strategy which disadvantaged him may have helped Bottas to win by forcing Ferrari to change their strategy to cover Hamilton ?? T

Good point.

Where a team are in 1 and 3 against another car it makes sense to only push as much is need to get a few seconds on the the car in the middle and have the third car about 15 to 20s behind on a different pit strategy. That then makes it difficult for the car in 2nd to get a clean undercut.

Hamilton has benefitted from strategy and team orders in the past. This time it was Bottas.

That said it's likely that Hamilton is nursing the odd lurking fear that if he had really bad luck then the championship could just slip away in the last 4 races even though he looks like a sure thing (some sort of technical infringement, fallout on track from the likes of CLC or MV fighting it out, or whatever). So his underlying concern is that wants to finish ahead of Bottas and get the job for this year concluded ASAP.

 

[GeeJayW]

^ yep. When it comes down to it, each driver wants to win and when they expect to win but don't, they have a face like a smacked Rse.

 

[Piff]

I know this is a F1 2019 thread but am I allowed to stretch it to 2020?

Just booked tickets to Spanish GP 2020

Info here if anyone is interested. Of course included flight times are unreasonable so an upgrade has to be paid

 

[Chrishazle]

Just had an email from Scenic and Continental Tours about their trip to the Chinese GP 2020, OK includes flights, hotels, meals and Grandstand H tickets for the race as well as about 6-7 days assorted sight seeing - for £2500pp!

 

[Neiltodd]

Just had an email from Scenic and Continental Tours about their trip to the Chinese GP 2020, OK includes flights, hotels, meals and Grandstand H tickets for the race as well as about 6-7 days assorted sight seeing - for £2500pp!

Saw that too, it does look interesting though