Formula One 2018 - General Thread

[Deleted member 113659]

Brilliant concentration from Daniel, but yeah says a lot about F1 and especially Monaco when a car with 200hp advantage driven by a four-time world champion still can't overtake the car in front.

To be fair I think if you factor in the tyre issue that Ferrari & Merc had compared to Red Bull that helped immensely.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

^^^ I assume I'm in the select group

I watch it because it's on, because I'm interested in the tekky aspects, and because occasionally there's a genuinely interesting proper race.

I certainly won't be watching when it disappears from free to air television though, and I suspect I won't be the only one.

Hehe. Wasn’t a pop mate. Just a bit of banter. (And I understand completely.)

 

[GeeJayW]

To be fair I think if you factor in the tyre issue that Ferrari & Merc had compared to Red Bull that helped immensely.

Yeah, good point. Merc and Ferrari might have needed a two stop if the Red Bull didn't have power problems. Bottas may well have have been in the box seat.

 

[Mactech]

Danny Ric will be retaining his 'Perma-grin' for some time yet...and rightly so!
If ever there was a track to suffer a power deficit, then it was Monaco. The car was good on it's tyres anyway, but then he didn't have the power to root them!
The race may have delivered the top six in qualifying order, but it was never short of tension.
I was wrong about Vercrashem. He must have been on very strict instructions!

 

[AMGeed]

Amazing how a few members above seem to post regular ‘processional’ comments race after race. Not sure why they bother to watch if it’s so boring.

That is exactly what some of these races have become though Ant. Circuits like Monaco where there is hardly room to pass now the cars are wider. the performance so equal. makes for a procession. It can't be called anything else when Vettell follows Ricciardo for 59 laps with a car that has 225bhp more and still can't pass.

Here is a quote from Hamilton after the race
Third-placed Lewis Hamilton was not impressed with the race: "I will be shocked if anyone was awake at home while it was on, because I would have been asleep on the couch"

At least the next track in Canada is a quick one with overtaking possibilities.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

That is exactly what some of these races have become though Ant. Circuits like Monaco where there is hardly room to pass now the cars are wider. the performance so equal. makes for a procession. It can't be called anything else when Vettell follows Ricciardo for 59 laps with a car that has 225bhp more and still can't pass.

Here is a quote from Hamilton after the race
Third-placed Lewis Hamilton was not impressed with the race: "I will be shocked if anyone was awake at home while it was on, because I would have been asleep on the couch"

At least the next track in Canada is a quick one with overtaking possibilities.

Agreed, but it’s old news now mate. We all know it’s not a great racing track. Remember 2001 when Coulthard was stuck behind Bernoldi for 30 odd laps? So nothing new at Monaco.

But for the history alone I think it’s a race they need to keep. Let alone the spectacle of the event. Kinda like Christmas for me. The build up is somewhat better than the actual day itself.

And regardless of what lewis said, would he of said the same had he won the race? Doubt it very much. In fact watch the pre-race interview on Sky F1 where he talks with passion about Monaco being the best race on the calendar.

I didn’t hear Danny Ric saying he was bored.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

It can't be called anything else when Vettell follows Ricciardo for 59 laps with a car that has 225bhp more and still can't pass.

Interesting how it’s gone from 160bhp to 200bhp and now 225bhp.

Danny Ric’s tyres had much better grip than Seb Vet’s. Had they been of similar condition I’m sure he may have made a move

 

[AMGeed]

Interesting how it’s gone from 160bhp to 200bhp and now 225bhp.

Danny Ric’s tyres had much better grip than Seb Vet’s. Had they been of similar condition I’m sure he may have made a move

Just quoted the BBC Ant. Who knows

"It turns out he lost the MGU-K - the part of the hybrid system that recovers energy from the rear axle and redeploys it. Team boss Christian Horner said it cost him 2.5 seconds a lap and 25% of engine power, or about 225bhp."

 

[Headhurts]

I’m not a great fan of street races and Monaco in my opinion is the worse.

Ricciardo did a superb job winning but on any other circuit I believe Vettel would have passed him.

Robin

 

[Dryce]

I’m not a great fan of street races and Monaco in my opinion is the worse.

I think if it was cut from the calendar people would lament its passing but really - I think I miss the old Hockenheim way more than I would ever miss Monaco.

It's a prestige event for Monaco - and while I realise they are short of space the whole place seems more and more packed every time I see it - surely they could have somehow enhanced the circuit layout over the last three decades as part of other developments.

 

[190]

It was a processional race but saved for me by the human factor. If you watch a race like that and are not familiar with the drivers then it's boring as hell. Because we know the drivers and we all wanted Daniel to win in spite of the set back the human story saves the day.

 

[Tensofbenz]

I treat Monaco as an interesting tactical and strategy game rather than a good race, it has always been the case there that an overtake is impossible if your car is made wide enough and you are in front. What it does do for the sport, is to mix up the point scoring a bit, that can only be a good thing. Very interesting that Vettle and Hamilton could not even seem to keep up, i think the lower speed made the tyres suffer which rendered any extra power as pretty useless.

 

[brucemillar]

I had the distinct feeling that both Mercedes and Ferrari actually had their race on the Saturday. Realising that Red Bull with DR at the helm was unlikely to cede the lead (if it made the first corner which it did). LH and SV settled down to contain any points gap between themselves, Neither wishing to risk their points in a fruitless pursuit of a car that is as wide as the track and demonstrably quicker in any passing places than they were. Any overtake would be a potential wreck and points losing exercise. LH & SV's body language at the finish, suggested that this was the strategy and they were not happy with it but saw the points sense in adhering to it. It is a strategy borne out of cars that are too wide to pass each other and too grippy to risk a pass on the brakes.

It just highlights again the scale of the problems that they must face up to as a sport.

Fernando Alonso continues to carry around his demons on his shoulders for everybody to witness. Mark Webber commenting that his time spent in the Toyota this year is possibly an indicator of his dedication to F1this season and beyond. His belief (if ever it was real) that his issues were with Honda, have been shown to be flawed and must cause him some embarrassment and Honda some wry smiles?

I see no quick fixes in a sport that is egg bound by rules that are enforced by stewards at the track-side or, in court rooms away from and long after the result. As always teams have no trust in each other with claims of favoritism and dodgy deals in engine supply, now being brought into the race to tell other teams to move over in almost comedic overtakes. This leaves us with half the field under a cloud of "was he just told to get out the way?"

They need (I think) to simplify the design and drastically reduce the amount of aero-generated, down-force and traction. There is no point in building a race car that can go 20KPH faster in a straight line if that straight line is shortened artificially by DRS leaving the car/driver behind looking at a diminishing gap and a Banzai move on the brakes.

 

[Nat]

If there is one person I like seeing on the top step apart from the usual suspects it's DR and maybe one day soon FA - or is the latter wishful thinking?

 

[GeeJayW]

The Monaco GP is more important to the business of F1 than it is to anything else. Lots of corporate glad handing going on behind the scenes. A number of the drivers live there as (I guess) a significant number of sponsors. It's the bling GP.

F1 cars have struggled to overtake each other at Monaco for decades, maybe even always. Mansell v Senna being a classic example.

 

[GeeJayW]

Double post..

 

[baxlin]

Don’t know how much say Channel 4 have over the races they show live, but IMO this is one 'race' that they could/should relegate to highlights only. Assuming of course there are highlights.

 

[renault12ts]

Hehe. Wasn’t a pop mate. Just a bit of banter. (And I understand completely.)

As I said elsewhere...we get it...you like F1...but it was a pop...until you were called on it.

The thread is about F1...not having a pop at others views. Monaco is processional...even my 83 year old mother found yesterday's race boring.

Awaiting a pop.

 

[grober]

Since this is Channel 4's last free to air F1 broadcast season its moot. Perhaps its best to regard it as akin to an exhibition bout in boxing. Where F1 races are a fairly ritualised activity anyway Monaco has its own set of rules compared to other circuits. It's true that with this years wider cars and funny tyres overtaking is almost imposssible meaning that perhaps this is one race that's won in Q3 but is that such a bad thing. Driving fastest round what is essentially an Armco barrier lined track in qualifying does tend to be a great driver equaliser- they all all had their chance- even MV! What was initially perhaps a forgone conclusion was first threatened by rain and by mechanical failure and tyre degredation. The driver who put in the best qualifying lap, nursed a sick car home while keeping his tyres from degrading won and deservedly so. It was different, yes but maybe that's a good thing every so often? Never mind there's always the prospect of the
Scalextric sorry Abu Dhabi GP to look forward to at the end of the calendar
With broadcasting rights being a monopoly broadcast by SKY SPORT next year and Liberty Media in control be careful what you wish for. Dumping MONACO with its admittted foibles might be just one more step along the "homogenising" of the sport. Remember some Americans idea of motorsport is the Indy 500---?
ps incidentally won by another AUSSIE this year! Will Power [ no- really]

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[GeeJayW]

Did anyone see the clip of Keke and Nico Rosberg driving the circuit in their respective championship winning cars? Interesting to see how much wider the Williams was in comparison with a 2016 Mercedes.

Keke and Nico Rosberg complete Monaco demo run in F1 title cars