BTW, after the last two races the BBC have had a solo interview with Hamilton. It's taken place in the garage and it's not part of the big media scrum. He's a lot more relaxed and really thinks about his answers instead of the usual throwaway crap you get in other immediate post-race interviews. Really interesting - you get a glimpse into the thought processes required to drive these cars. Unfortunately, they haven't had the same with other drivers.
Keith Tanner wrote: I loved watching Button and Maldonado fight it out. A hack driver in a quicker car trying to get past a very experienced driver in a slow one.
I was laughing so hard for that whole battle. My online friends who were watching me were like "I think Mike is broken..." ESPECIALLY when the DRS aided Honda outdragged the Lotus on the straightaway. Did someone in the pits take the car off the leash for a moment there?
It's too bad it ended when Jenson zigged instead of zagged. I totally get that he wanted the inside line, but there just wasn't enough room left.
And how about Verstappen pulling the old "Give me the corner or you can go ahead and hit me" passing? Very Senna-esque.
The race was OK. I was mostly surprised at how subdued the podium seemed. Almost like there was an accident and a driver was in the medical chopper.
It was tense for a while as I wondered if MB would fall flat on the Medium tyres.
Rather sad Williams is stumbling back.
Great that the McLarens finished.
Hope Renault doesn't quit F1.
Oh and speed up Lewis. I mean darn if Rosberg has to close up and pass you. Good thing he seemed to forget he was racing you to! 
Kimi needs to win a race soon or time to go back to NASCAR or rally or whatever.
Is Rosberg a defeated man or what?
MCarp22 wrote: And how about Verstappen pulling the old "Give me the corner or you can go ahead and hit me" passing? Very Senna-esque.
Agreed. I was not impressed with that. Martin Brundle kept saying how impressed he was, I thought it was too much bully tactics.
z31maniac wrote: Is Rosberg a defeated man or what?
Yup 
Lewis is going too slow?!?!? Well, he beat you in Quali and he's ahead of you in the race, you could always try, you know, being faster than him or gasp passing him, something I don't recall you ever doing.
I loved how Lewis backed him up into Vettle, but still when the team told him to speed up and gave him a target time he did exactly that time, then when Nico pitted, balm, fastest lap followed by another fastest lap on old tires. He controlled it perfectly.
Did you hear the interviews after the race? Nico was crying and they talked to Toto Wolff who said Hamilton is a racer and did what he needed to do to win the race. I think Nico will start slipping and I think Vettle will get 2nd int eh championship ahead of a broken Rosberg even though the Ferrari isn't as fast.
MCarp22 wrote:Keith Tanner wrote: I loved watching Button and Maldonado fight it out. A hack driver in a quicker car trying to get past a very experienced driver in a slow one.I was laughing so hard for that whole battle. My online friends who were watching me were like "I think Mike is broken..." ESPECIALLY when the DRS aided Honda outdragged the Lotus on the straightaway. Did someone in the pits take the car off the leash for a moment there? It's too bad it ended when Jenson zigged instead of zagged. I totally get that he wanted the inside line, but there just wasn't enough room left.
I'm gonna say it was corner exit speed, not power. Of course, some of the power in the cars is discriminatory, Button was probably saving his batteries for that moment.
I think Maldonado simply slowed more than Button expected him to, and there was no margin.
BTW, whoever was running the camera that caught Sainz's spin needs to get some recognition, that was beautifully done. And Pastor almost got away with a big oppo moment too, if he hadn't dropped the rear wheels off the track I think he could have held it.
MCarp22 wrote: It's too bad it ended when Jenson zigged instead of zagged. I totally get that he wanted the inside line, but there just wasn't enough room left.
But he was man enough to admit he screwed up, apologized and took the punishment like a man. If it had been Maldonardo he would have been blaming Button, the car, the team, the engine, Odin and Zeus while protesting his innocence.
MCarp22 wrote: And how about Verstappen pulling the old "Give me the corner or you can go ahead and hit me" passing? Very Senna-esque.
Yeah not sure how Verstappen family has blackmailed all of the media to promote this guy. Yes he is a good driver but that pass was nothing special and as you said, actually somewhat distasteful.
But I will give him the rookie pass,(see what I did there), on it and see how he does through the season.
I expect Bahrain GP to be the most boring race all year, only because it was so exciting last year. Got to keep expectations low.
Wild prediction. McLaren-Honda wins after engine finally figured out.
Reality, MB dominate until frustrated Rosberg punts Hamilton into the wall after restart from safety car due to all four Renault motors go up in flames on the same lap destroying both teams' car bodies.
Wait that is ridiculous too?!?
Adrian_Thompson wrote: If it had been Maldonardo he would have been blaming Button, the car, the team, the engine, Odin and Zeus while protesting his innocence.
Eh? As it was, he didn't talk any E36 M3 about Jenson and what happened and explained that it could be hard to miss the braking point when you're that close. I totally get why you might say that, since the dude makes clumsy mistakes and looks like a bond villain though.
Keith Tanner wrote:MCarp22 wrote:I'm gonna say it was corner exit speed, not power. Of course, some of the power in the cars is discriminatory, Button was probably saving his batteries for that moment. I think Maldonado simply slowed more than Button expected him to, and there was no margin. BTW, whoever was running the camera that caught Sainz's spin needs to get some recognition, that was beautifully done. And Pastor almost got away with a big oppo moment too, if he hadn't dropped the rear wheels off the track I think he could have held it.Keith Tanner wrote: I loved watching Button and Maldonado fight it out. A hack driver in a quicker car trying to get past a very experienced driver in a slow one.I was laughing so hard for that whole battle. My online friends who were watching me were like "I think Mike is broken..." ESPECIALLY when the DRS aided Honda outdragged the Lotus on the straightaway. Did someone in the pits take the car off the leash for a moment there? It's too bad it ended when Jenson zigged instead of zagged. I totally get that he wanted the inside line, but there just wasn't enough room left.
I was under the impression the new KERS system was integrated into the power delivery without a separate "KERS" button?
You know I'd love to know more about the issues Hondas. Is it the engine, the energy recovery, the electric assist etc.? What part is the problem. Honda are damn good at building engines so I'd guess that it's something outside of the basic engine that is the issue, especially as they seem to be able to 'turn it down' to get full race distance out of it.
Just realized that the statement above covers a lot of what's wrong with the regs. KERS worked great for the last few years. The ERS is too complicated for even serious fans to understand properly, let alone the casual or new fan. Let alone tokens etc. We here all understand the basis of tokens, but even I fall down in fully comprehending the nuance, especially with the delayed homologation point for this year. It's too much. I have no issue with V6 turbos and energy recovery, but this is too far. If the FIA and the teams were doing a full on media blitz all the time explaining how it works and how they now make as much power and are going x% faster than 2 years ago with 30% energy it would be better, but they are not.
So for the next energy set they should simplify it, Keep the basic idea of V6 Turbo with energy recovery and electric assist, but go back to more of a simple KERS system, that will give us more noise as well (although I'm not as anti the current noise as some) if they are not struggling to get back as much energy as possible from the exhaust heat. Give them a max of 5 engines per car, but get rid of tokens. If you can develop your engine through the course of the year and give a better spec for engine 3, then again for engine 5 that's fine. If you blow up 3 engines in the first three races you are in trouble. Also to help the smaller teams put a cost cap of $20m USD on the engine supply for a 2 car team. If Ferrari want to spend $200m on developing the engine that's fine, but they can't charge Sauber or Manor more than $20m for the year. And each engine supplier must supply at least one non works team and be prepared to supply up to 1/3 of the grid. FIA can intervene to stop the engine suppliers unfairly cutting out smaller teams.
They need more testing as well. There should be a two day open test on the Monday/Tuesday after every European round (Except Monaco or where you get back to back races) and the works drivers can't do more than 1/2 a day out of those two. This should help the test and reserve drivers get something back for the millions of $$$"s they are paying for the privilege.
Predictions for the race. My crystal ball is working over time this week and has given me the entire results!!
Busy week, finally watched the race last night.
Ferrari are nipping at MB's heels, well Nico's at least.
James Allison's cars seem to be gentle on tires, it looks like our (my) only hope for more Ferrari wins will be high heat and tire degradation.
Not going to waste one by praying for rain....maybe abrasive track & sand will run MB tires off quicker. If this year's race is 1/2 as good as last year it will still be awesome.
z31maniac wrote:Keith Tanner wrote:I was under the impression the new KERS system was integrated into the power delivery without a separate "KERS" button?MCarp22 wrote:I'm gonna say it was corner exit speed, not power. Of course, some of the power in the cars is discriminatory, Button was probably saving his batteries for that moment. I think Maldonado simply slowed more than Button expected him to, and there was no margin. BTW, whoever was running the camera that caught Sainz's spin needs to get some recognition, that was beautifully done. And Pastor almost got away with a big oppo moment too, if he hadn't dropped the rear wheels off the track I think he could have held it.Keith Tanner wrote: I loved watching Button and Maldonado fight it out. A hack driver in a quicker car trying to get past a very experienced driver in a slow one.I was laughing so hard for that whole battle. My online friends who were watching me were like "I think Mike is broken..." ESPECIALLY when the DRS aided Honda outdragged the Lotus on the straightaway. Did someone in the pits take the car off the leash for a moment there? It's too bad it ended when Jenson zigged instead of zagged. I totally get that he wanted the inside line, but there just wasn't enough room left.
They are equipped with throttle pedals There has to be some way to manage the battery useage, given that it's a finite resource per lap.
Actually, I was talking to one of Hammy's MB powertrain engineers about this, apparently the rate of throttle application can have an effect. If they nail the gas too fast to do a burnout before the start, they can get into the ERS and draw down the battery a bit. This means you're a bit down on power on the sprint for turn 1. Be a bit more gradual and you only use the ICE - and then you get a better start. Hamilton is apparently quite good at this.
Keith Tanner wrote: Hamilton is apparently quite good at this.
Yep... it does appear he is quite an immature little berkley... How old is he???
I have no idea how you think you can connect my comment that Hamilton is better at managing pre-race energy levels than other drivers to a manufactured "controversy".
Keith Tanner wrote: I have no idea how you think you can connect my comment that Hamilton is better at managing pre-race energy levels than other drivers to a manufactured "controversy".
It wasn't specifically YOUR comment.... I was pointing out he is quite a bully as well as quite a driver.... nothing else....
As to manufactured... that isn't photoshopped my friend... Hamilton assaulted her... he is there because he wants to... and he won... now he is spraying the lady... who has no other choice but to be there... (remember this is a communist country... you have little if any "choice"). Besides... does she look like she is enjoying it??? So the only thing manufactured is Hamilton is an immature child who doesn't play well with others..........
As to bullying... this isn't that much different then Clarkson's assault on his producer. A person who has to be there to earn their check is assaulted by the "star" who earns enough in the weekend to pay the poor assault victims salary for YEARS......
Since that's the first time anyone standing near the podium has been sprayed like that.
oldeskewltoy wrote:Keith Tanner wrote: I have no idea how you think you can connect my comment that Hamilton is better at managing pre-race energy levels than other drivers to a manufactured "controversy".It wasn't specifically YOUR comment.... I was pointing out he is quite a bully as well as quite a driver.... nothing else.... As to manufactured... that isn't photoshopped my friend... Hamilton assaulted her... he is there because he wants to... and he won... now he is spraying the lady... who has no other choice but to be there... (remember this is a communist country... you have little if any "choice"). Besides... does she look like she is enjoying it??? So the only thing manufactured is Hamilton is an immature child who doesn't play well with others.......... As to bullying... this isn't that much different then Clarkson's assault on his producer. A person who has to be there to earn their check is assaulted by the "star" who earns enough in the weekend to pay the poor assault victims salary for YEARS......
Why isn't anyone complaining about how the MotoGP guys will spray girls in their chest or buttocks?
Hamilton haters. Get over it.
oldeskewltoy wrote:Keith Tanner wrote: I have no idea how you think you can connect my comment that Hamilton is better at managing pre-race energy levels than other drivers to a manufactured "controversy".It wasn't specifically YOUR comment.... I was pointing out he is quite a bully as well as quite a driver.... nothing else.... As to manufactured... that isn't photoshopped my friend... Hamilton assaulted her... he is there because he wants to... and he won... now he is spraying the lady... who has no other choice but to be there... (remember this is a communist country... you have little if any "choice"). Besides... does she look like she is enjoying it??? So the only thing manufactured is Hamilton is an immature child who doesn't play well with others.......... As to bullying... this isn't that much different then Clarkson's assault on his producer. A person who has to be there to earn their check is assaulted by the "star" who earns enough in the weekend to pay the poor assault victims salary for YEARS......
If it wasn't in response to my comment, then quoting my comment was quite misleading. I was discussing actual racing and actual racing techniques, you were discussing something that came out of the Daily Mail. This is a motorsport forum, not a gossip site.
People on the podium get sprayed with champagne. Pretty much all of them. It happens every race, and not just in F1 or even just in motor racing. If you time your shot right, you'll get all sorts of facial expressions from the immediate response. If that was assault, what do you call this? Gang rape?
It would be a completely different thing if the girl was smiling, wouldn't it. Oh, wait.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
She's an odd example, she knows she must always smile. Commie bastards.
I'm just sick of the 'pagne "ceremony".
That an improvisational show of elated exuberance after victory has become a scheduled formality.
When did the champagne become "required"? Did everyone do it starting the next day and everytime after like NASCAR guys HAVE to make billowing clouds of tiresmoke?
Shouldn't 3rd & 4thrarri have gone with different strategy for RAI to make MB cover w/ROS, thus allowing VET to pass? I know they pitted early to force MB to follow, but maybe with the advantage over Williams being established by then.....
I get that they are happy to be getting podiums but they need to continually rattle MB & make the silver arrows become silver slivers.
Nico going nutz somehow is my little pony team's only shot of winning. Or if HAM's AMG heated racing seat malfunctions.
In reply to oldeskewltoy:
Hope you were being super sarcastic!
If not, see below.
Wow man how much time have you spent in racing or China? Most capitalist and free place on earth right now man. The young lady has already released her statement that it was nothing. The drivers are required by some agreement to spray the champagne. Part of the marketing agreement with Mumm?, the supplier. She sought the job to be the one next to the podium knowing full well what could happen. Is it a bit sexist that there are grid girls at all, yes. Spraying them just like you spray your fellow racers, the team, car, officials, and crowd, not sexist, just inclusive.
Go to next year's Chinese GP, stay at the Suzhou Renaissance Hotel, or if you must be in Shanghai stay at Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World. Open your mind mate.
etifosi wrote: Nico going nutz somehow is my little pony team's only shot of winning. Or if HAM's AMG heated racing seat malfunctions.
Ha going to call you a Bronetifosi from now on!
Who the hell thinks China has anything to do with communism these days? It's a controlled capitalist society, it’s just that the government like control, a lot of control. Government involvement does not equal socialism or communism. I very much doubt that she was forced to be on the podium. I bet like every other country there is cut throat competition amongst models for primo jobs like the F1 ceremony.
Champagne has been given out at to the podium for a long long time. Google says it was Dan Gurney who first sprayed it on the podium after winning the 67 LeMans and again a week later when he won in Spa in his F1 Eagle. Personally I love the whole champagne thing, and if I ever suddenly get millions of funding and can go and run the Indy 500 and become the oldest ever winner, I’ll throw the silly milk in the trash and grab a bottle of Moet instead!
You'll need to log in to post.
