FORMULA ONE - 2019

Good strategy call by Mercedes followed by great driving by Hamilton. 

Was I the only one to notice how the commentators mentioned LeClerc hitting Bottas on lap 1 over and over and over and completely ignored that Hamilton also hit Bottas. Lewis was lucky he didn’t get a puncture from that. They were millimeters away from being Haaslike, but managed to win instead. 

Since Lewis pitted 6 laps after max, I wonder if he would have caught him anyway....  Mac's tires fell off a cliff with 3 laps to go.

Either way, 1 he'll of a race!

wvumtnbkr said:

Since Lewis pitted 6 laps after max, I wonder if he would have caught him anyway....  Mac's tires fell off a cliff with 3 laps to go.

 

Either way, 1 he'll of a race!

Yeah.  I guess the question is, would Max have been pushed as hard, or would he have tires last over at the end?  I think, based on the mid race wheel to wheel, Lewis was eventually going to win, no matter strategy.

T.J. said:

Was I the only one to notice how the commentators mentioned LeClerc hitting Bottas on lap 1 over and over and over and completely ignored that Hamilton also hit Bottas. Lewis was lucky he didn’t get a puncture from that. They were millimeters away from being Haaslike, but managed to win instead. 

I dunno which broadcast you were watching, but the Sky commentators mentioned it several times.  The LeClerc contact was quite a bit harder though.

In reply to codrus :

Yep, that's what I heard too.

However, the contact with leclerc was much harder and damaged the wing (which was probably already weakened).

That was a brilliant race, I was standing up for a lot of it. I can't believe that Mercedes strategy resulted in Lewis winning. Until the last 6 laps I was saying that Lewis will not win the race. The strategy only worked because Lewis and Max were miles ahead of the rest of the pack and from my karting experience I know that pulling out every last tenth lap after lap is exhausting and it was no surprise that Lewis didn't have the energy to crowd surf after this big win. Max drove a great race but maybe his attempt to match Lewis' times were what did him in? Max and Lewis really shone a light on how superior they are to their teammates. Mercedes can replace Bottas but whoever they put in that seat is gonna get crushed so they may as well stick with a driver who doesn't create negative energy in the team. I like Gasly but he is so far off Max that I doubt he's going to be in that seat very long. People who claim F1 is boring clearly don't know what they're talking about. I think I need to go watch it again.

So for the rest of the field...

Ferrari- so can we put to bed the idea that they have better grips on their car?  The rate that Lewis and Max drove away from them was amazing- so much so that both were able to clear them to easily pit a third time.  Yes, they are still clear of the rest of the field, but they are losing ground to Mercedes and Red Bull.

And great job to Red Bull to make the racing a whole lot more interesting.

McLaren seems to have solidified their grasp on the best of the rest.  Now to make the REALLY hard gap from them to Ferrari.

It was fun to see Torro Rosso let their drivers race each other, who did it really really well.  But they did not end up standing out as a team...

Not sure what to make of Racing Point, Alfa, Haas, and Renault.  Some good, some terrible.  Some really good, some horrible- the big spread being Alfa finishing 7th with Kimi and 18th (one from last runner) with Antonio.  Crazy the spread of performances.

Williams seemed to have made a significant step this weekend.  Yes, Kubica finished last, but George Russel did really well- qualifying and finishing quite well!!!  

In terms of the drivers for next season as we go into the break...

Bottas- dude, I really wanted you to have some strong races- but you may be really fast, but your race craft isn't there to pass.  He struggle to get by slower cars (too many examples to come up with all of them).  While he seems to be a great person, and he came into the season with a massive attitude- it's not lasted.

Vettel- better this weekend, but it sure seems like you are done.

Gasley- he's spending too much time racing the mid-field, when the car is clearly a front running car.

Giovinazzi- about the same gap to Kimi as Gasley and Verstappen.

Grojean and Mags... One or both have to go.  Neither are helping the team figure out what is wrong.  The team is struggling to understand the lack of sustained race pace that they need all hands on deck.  

Kubica- you are being overshadowed a LOT by your much younger teammate.

Stroll- other than one race where you could take a chance- the only reason he's still driving is who owns the team.

On the OTHER hand...

Russel- heck of a year.  Right there when Williams makes progress.  I think he's realistic for a long term Mercedes ride if Williams can't make up the gap.

Kvyat- such a turn around from when you were demoted.  Between you and Albon- Red Bull has a tough time choosing who will replace Gasley.

Kimi- you have a seat until you wish to retire.  

Norris- this guy is having a great year.

LeClerc- it's really nice to see Ferrari not really be able to favor Vettel.  This kid is going to win, soon.  Well, maybe not this year, with Ferrari's "progress".

Pretty much everyone else seems quite safe with their seat.

In reply to alfadriver :

What about Sainz?

I think in general McLaren have to be regarded as the surprise team of the season.  I have to wonder where  they'd be with a competitive powerplant.

In reply to stroker :

I put him into the solid year that doesn't need commenting- I see no reason for McLaren to change his seat.   The reason I mention Lando is that he's a rookie, and some have struggled with better teammates.  The two of them are making a very solid team.

Folks,

Gotta say that I have only watched that last 4 or 5 races, but it has been fun!

Hamilton is clearly the class of the field, but the competition and racecraft from his team is awesome!

Rog

The Mercedes had brake problems from about halfway on. Hamilton looked like he was a lot more willing to still use them hard than Bottas was.

I remember way back at the beginning of the season saying that Gasly was not living up to expectations and more than one of you defended him. Then a few races later repeated the whole deal. Now at the season mid point is anyone still defending Gasly?

He has been outdriven by both Toro Rosso drivers in my opinion. 

alfadriver said:

Ferrari- so can we put to bed the idea that they have better grips on their car?  The rate that Lewis and Max drove away from them was amazing- so much so that both were able to clear them to easily pit a third time.  Yes, they are still clear of the rest of the field, but they are losing ground to Mercedes and Red Bull.

Ferrari is lacking downforce, and the Hungaroring is a track where that really hurts them.  I expect they'll be a lot closer at Spa and Monza.

codrus said:

alfadriver said:

Ferrari- so can we put to bed the idea that they have better grips on their car?  The rate that Lewis and Max drove away from them was amazing- so much so that both were able to clear them to easily pit a third time.  Yes, they are still clear of the rest of the field, but they are losing ground to Mercedes and Red Bull.

Ferrari is lacking downforce, and the Hungaroring is a track where that really hurts them.  I expect they'll be a lot closer at Spa and Monza.

That has been expected at quite a few races won by Lewis already this year.  And all of last year.  

codrus said:

alfadriver said:

Ferrari- so can we put to bed the idea that they have better grips on their car?  The rate that Lewis and Max drove away from them was amazing- so much so that both were able to clear them to easily pit a third time.  Yes, they are still clear of the rest of the field, but they are losing ground to Mercedes and Red Bull.

Ferrari is lacking downforce, and the Hungaroring is a track where that really hurts them.  I expect they'll be a lot closer at Spa and Monza.

My point is more people claiming that Ferrari has made progress on what doesn't work, and they have not made any progress.  Even at tracks like Siverstone, where there is a lot of high speed running, they were way off of the Mercedes pace.  They have made no progress at all- just that they have the most power.  And I actually suspect that they will be out gunned at both Spa and Monza, as the peak speed very much depends on the prior corner- so without downforce through Eau Rouge or Curva Grande- power can only partially make up for that.

On the other hand Mercedes has made progress- I suspect that they wont suffer at the next hot race (as it was hot in Hungary), and it's obvious what Red Bull has done.

I have to think that with RBR  making so much progress over the past few races has all but sealed Gasly's fate right? I mean before they were on an island of third where max was doing well enough that no mid-field team was going to pass them but they weren't going to catch Merc or Ferrari - regardless of how pedestrian Gasly was racing. But now that the car has improved and it looks like RBR is equal to or perhaps better than Ferrari - a good second driver becomes crutial for the constructors and making a push for second.  I have to think that forces RBR's hand to make a move over summer break, no?

In reply to alfadriver :

The strange thing with Merc's call was that I, like most, thought was no way Lewis was going to catch up in time. But then after two laps it kind of clicks - He only needs a second a lap and Max was going to basically be driving on the rims by the time the race ended.

I am curious to see how that race would have ended with both drivers stuck on hards on their last leg through the end of the race. Was exciting regardless, but sure that would have been too.

I think the only way Max wins, in retrospec, is if he undercuts Hamilton by a lap. But Christian made it clear that there was no way they were going to pit with the lead at that point.

In reply to BrewCity20 :

There was no way that Max could have undercut.  That was part of the brilliance of the timing of the call- he was called in when the two of them were approaching traffic, so after one lap, Lewis had the lead if Max pitted.  After that, it was the waiting game to see if Hamilton could do it.  My wife was constanlty complaining about it, but I thought it was a bold move to try *something*.  Didn't think it would work that well.  The lapped traffic made it very questionable, but once the track opened up so that it was a straight and clear fight, the closing pace was amazing.

Streetwiseguy said:

codrus said:

alfadriver said:

Ferrari- so can we put to bed the idea that they have better grips on their car?  The rate that Lewis and Max drove away from them was amazing- so much so that both were able to clear them to easily pit a third time.  Yes, they are still clear of the rest of the field, but they are losing ground to Mercedes and Red Bull.

Ferrari is lacking downforce, and the Hungaroring is a track where that really hurts them.  I expect they'll be a lot closer at Spa and Monza.

That has been expected at quite a few races won by Lewis already this year.  And all of last year.  

I didn't say they would *win*, just that they would be closer.

T.J. said:

I remember way back at the beginning of the season saying that Gasly was not living up to expectations and more than one of you defended him. Then a few races later repeated the whole deal. Now at the season mid point is anyone still defending Gasly?

He has been outdriven by both Toro Rosso drivers in my opinion. 

I think he still needs time. Why? The same reason many have given Bottas time to see if he can match Hamilton or given LeClerc time to see if he can be consistently brilliant. Heck we are even giving Vettel time to stop spinning and crashing. So Gasly is just a measure of how <cough cough> "ugh" how goooooo--d Verstappen is. Also it is interesting that, a driver like Ricciardo is having such a hard time at Renault. The team is not at the level he is used to. Gasly is in a team that, like Ferrari is more than happy to lose the driver's championship as long as their number one driver by informal or formal contract always gets what they want. LeClerc could probably be running Hamilton close in the points but not for a strong favoritism. Which is the team's perogative. Red Bull have redesigned chassis in the past to favor one of their drivers and continue to build their team around Max. Gasly should have known he was going into that position. Still he has managed to get better over the year. That is what made Ricciardo such a light. He walked into RB and dominated Vettel. Mostly due to the new regulation cars but that gave him the chance to defeat the king of RB. 

Gasly took the best seat he could, it is just with a team that cares very little about what he needs to succeed. In fact before the season started RB already conceded the manufacturers championship by confirming that Honda would be bringing more than the allowed number of engines by PLAN. So they PLAN to take penalties in the second half of the season. 

In reply to alfadriver :

I still think Ferrari had the faster car to start the season. However, like their customer team Haas, they developed it into a super unpredictable and thus hard to tune chassis. The Ferrari guys definitely need to rethink their development process and are probably gleaning as much as they can from the HAAS testing efforts. 

So if they figure out where they went wrong and move in the right direction then they will be back in the fight with RB and MB.

Sort of like Williams. Definitely a major issue with their chassis engineering and development before the season but they are slowly coming towards being solidly in midfield battles now. 

In reply to alfadriver :

I don't believe I appreciated the lapped traffic point. Interesting.

And even more evidence of how brilliant Merc's strategy was. Wow.

Mercedes had nothing to lose by trying their strategy. If it worked they could get the win. If it didn't they retained 2nd. Ferrari and Gasly being so far behind is the only thing that made it possible, so Lewis should remember to thank those guys too. I had doubts that it would work and it only worked because Lewis is brilliant. The strategy call seemed bold and unexpected at the time, but in reality it was an easy call to make since they had nothing to lose by doing it.

In reply to Advan046 :

I agree Gasly does need time. Maybe a second or two a lap.....

In reply to Advan046 :

Ferrari has its weaknesses but no way LeClerc is close to Hamilton in points if Ferrari doesn't show favoritism. The races where LeClerc was fastest they let him run (e.g., Austria and Bahrain). There was only 2 or 3 races where driver orders were somewhat enforced, and even then, it was Ferrari fighting for third at best.