The F1 thread

boogieman

Vettel deserves to lose just for growing that stupid moustache.. 

Modellista

Modellista said:

LeClerc will outclass Vettel, causing an existential crisis for both himself and his team.  

More than a whiff of this coming true already and it's only race 2.

What a shame for him to lose the win, but at least a consolation podium that could easily not have happened.  And a sharp dose of motorsport pain is just as much a rite of passage as one's first win.

Modellista

boogieman said:

Vettel deserves to lose just for growing that stupid moustache.. 

Fretwired

Cols said:

Gutted for LeClerc.  Faster than his highly paid teammate for two races in a row, but luck was not with him.

Agreed but Ferrari screwed up -  car reliability is part of the sport and whilst the Mercs weren't the fastest they were reliable. Hamilton's radio was revealing. He admitted it was a lucky win and that the boys and girls back at Brackley needed to up their game as he admitted Ferrari have the faster package.

I wonder if Ferrari are getting to the end of the road with Vettel. Yet again he can't race wheel to wheel without making a mistake whilst Hamilton tucks him up like a kipper every time there's close racing between them. How many times has he spun or left the track and lost a place?

Entertaining race ...

stickyfiddle

Fantastic race. Gutted for LeClerc but clearly both car and driver have great pace.  We should be in for a great season if we have all 4 Merc & Ferrari drivers capable of wins. 

And Norris is looking like a great hire at the right time for McLaren.

boogieman

stickyfiddle said:

And Norris is looking like a great hire at the right time for McLaren.

Wis'd. The  McClaren looked to have good pace. Alonso must be feeling a right pillock for quitting now. 

Fretwired

boogieman said:

stickyfiddle said:

And Norris is looking like a great hire at the right time for McLaren.

Wis'd. The  McClaren looked to have good pace. Alonso must be feeling a right pillock for quitting now. 

Not really. He'll be back next year to partner Norris .. ;-)

Cols

Speaking of which - thoughts on Sainz and Verstappen?  Granted, Max bounced over the kerb and clattered into the side of Sainz, but I thought in this case he hadn’t been left any room.

stickyfiddle

Fretwired said:

boogieman said:

stickyfiddle said:

And Norris is looking like a great hire at the right time for McLaren.

Wis'd. The  McClaren looked to have good pace. Alonso must be feeling a right pillock for quitting now. 

Not really. He'll be back next year to partner Norris .. ;-)

Sadly I do wonder if this is his plan. Basically if McLaren have a good year, Fred comes back and tries to take all the glory next year. 

I really enjoyed watching him race but I'm completely fine with the current lineup, personally. He'd be better off going and winning everything else that he can himself get a drive for.

stickyfiddle

Cols said:

Speaking of which - thoughts on Sainz and Verstappen?  Granted, Max bounced over the kerb and clattered into the side of Sainz, but I thought in this case he hadn’t been left any room.

Racing incident imo. Not that it changes my thoughts on Max and his seeming inability to make a pass or defense without nudging someone. 

I actually really liked how light the stewards were for this race.

If 2 guys are side by side then unless someone has obviously run the other guy off the track they should let them get on with it.

boogieman

Fretwired said:

boogieman said:

stickyfiddle said:

And Norris is looking like a great hire at the right time for McLaren.

Wis'd. The  McClaren looked to have good pace. Alonso must be feeling a right pillock for quitting now. 

Not really. He'll be back next year to partner Norris .. ;-)

Ooh err! Didn’t see that coming. 

Boromedic

It was a great race and I feel desperately sorry for Charles, what a shame. At least he got 3rd thanks to the Renault's. Vettel once again showing he's vulnerable when he has a quality team mate and can struggle under pressure. 

Some close racing which bodes well for the season, Norris showing he's as quality as he looked last year in testing. Ferrari definitely have a faster car, the petrol engine is quicker than Mercedes for the first time, wonder if they'll develop at a better rate, remains to be seen if their aero package is going to cause them trouble at other tracks. Red Bull have work to do, but Max will have them fighting. Should be a great season, Lewis for the title again though I think (hopefully!). If not then LeClerc has the pace, hope he can see it through. 

sinbaadi

Those who want a bit of unreliability to shake things up a bit, did you enjoy the Leclerc result?

Mankonis

Leclerc is the man. So cold-blooded and concentrated. Vettel back to his business of screwing everything up. 
The season is promising in terms of the closer fight, but of course Hamilton top class as always. 

Maclaren showing a good pace while Haas lacking during the race. I am really sad looking at Renault right now, hopefully, they will get their things together.

PC_Dave

boogieman said:

Fretwired said:

boogieman said:

stickyfiddle said:

And Norris is looking like a great hire at the right time for McLaren.

Wis'd. The  McClaren looked to have good pace. Alonso must be feeling a right pillock for quitting now. 

Not really. He'll be back next year to partner Norris .. ;-)

Ooh err! Didn’t see that coming. 

Incidentally, have you seen who’s driving the McLaren at the Bahrain test this morning? None other than Fernando Alonso.

stickyfiddle

Great 1000th celebration helmet liveries for DannyRic and Hulk. 

Nico already had the best lid and this is even better. I hope lots of drivers see these and move more towards great, simple graphic designs rather than the messy fades and sparkles we've seen for the last decade or so.





 

TimmyO

Those are fab

agree  - the helmet design trends of the last good few years are a mess 

Modellista

That was a race more interesting in theory than reality. 

It appears Ferrari are willing to hobble their entire season in an effort to favour the fading Vettel over the rising Leclerc.  I would have thought anyone in doubt as to whether letting teammates properly race is a decent strategy just needs to look at Mercedes over the last few years. Hamilton has been kept honest by his teammates. Favouring one driver over the other before the season has really got going is a recipe for resentment from driver 2 and complacency from driver 1. I doubt they’ll change, but if they don’t I think we’re in for another car-crash season from Ferrari. 

stickyfiddle

So Baku. Interesting quali, dull race.

Random thoughts:

- Where are Ferrari's strategy people and wtf are they doing? LeClerc should have been at least one spot further up, but I wonder if they didn't want him to push so they didn't need to make a decision between him & Seb. 
- I'm also sick of the whole "Ferrari are quicker than Merc" stuff from both press and Mercedes. It's relentless and stupid and has only really been true in Bahrain so far.
- Great to see McLaren properly back in it. I can't see them ever really pushing for titles in the current manufacturer-dominated era, but I'm very glad they're not at the back.
- Bottas has well and truly grown the beard and is clearly a bigger threat to Lewis than either Ferrari driver at this point. 
- If Bottas wins a title will that diminish Hamilton's titles as this will be remembered even more as a "Mercedes era" than a "Hamilton" one. 
- Ocon ain't getting a race seat.

sweepy

Totally agree, Ferrari tactics are amateur at best, they should have brought LeClerc in at least 5 
laps earlier