F1 2018

[Basil B]

On 10/22/2018 at 10:53 AM, Basil B said:

...so unless Lewis slips on a banana skin and breaks a leg he will almost certainly be walking away with the championship, probably next weekend, even if he were to start from the back of the grid.  

Or hobbling away with the championship if Seb does not win any of the last 3 races. 

[Guest]

This is why it's sometimes so troublesome to watch British F1 media.

 

It's actually the same thing when watching the highly nationalistic Finnish commentators in Finnish media. The pink nationalistic googles are always on.

 

It would be much better to find the news without those pre-painted googles. 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Well deserved world championship for Lewis! Congratulations. 

 

This was one of the races which was utterly boring.

 

 

[Mosha]

Well done Lewis, it's sad when the race winner hardly gets a mention. Idiots on FB using the angry emoji. The only thing to be upset about IMHO is the remaining races are almost meaningless. Lewis knew what he needed to to, and he delivered.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Well done Lewis, it's sad when the race winner hardly gets a mention. Idiots on FB using the angry emoji. The only thing to be upset about IMHO is the remaining races are almost meaningless. Lewis knew what he needed to to, and he delivered.

Yup, have to agree.

Well done Lewis, very well deserved championship ! All that hard work he put in ( especially since July) plus a little from Seb and Ferrari [emoji51].

Shame that it couldn’t have been a more dramatic finish, who can forget 2008 !! ( Massa and family certainly can’t [emoji51]).

The remaining races have certainly lost their appeal.

Roll on 2019 !

Also, well done Max !, got a feeling next year is gonna be a 3 horse race !

[Mosha]

Danny Give the cursed car to Gasly

 

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/25111789/daniel-ricciardo-see-point-finishing-season-cursed-car

[Mosha]

Lewis' Grandfather died days before the race.

[Basil B]

Seemed more Mercedes just could no get the balance right on both cars, did put a dampener on the Championship win.

 

Yes, really do need to put some zing in the last few races but triple points ain't the answer, or extra prize money.

 

Maybe something on the lines of grid position is determined on a formula that not only takes in qualifying but the finish position of the last 3 races. 

[AJBangkok]

I think next year should be an incredible season although seeing the pace of the Red Bull’s since the summer break makes me a little worried that they could run away with things next year if they get the 40-50hp that Honda can deliver. Their only fight may be with their own reliability.

 

With only milliseconds between Ferrari and Mercedes on any given day this year it going to be extremely interesting to see how the 2019 construction specs that lower aero and put more importance on mechanical grip affect that gap. Red Bull May have an advantage as they still have Adrian Newey designing the car and history has proven pretty much the only thing that can cosistantly beat a Newey designed car is more Horsepower.

 

Time will tell but I wonder if Ricciardo is second guessing himself on his move to Renault.

 

With only 2 races to go I still want to see a Finnish driver standing center podium for both 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

I think the Red Bull's speed on this track, like it has been in previous years, is simply due their car is way better compared to the other rivals. Both Mercheses and Ferrari have superior engines, but they can't use their engine advantages on this track.

 

It's the similar kind of situation on slow pace tracs like Monaco and Singapore. These are places where Red Bull works best. The same applies when the track is wet and slow. That's when we see the bulls taking advantage.

 

 

[AJBangkok]

Yes I get that the Red Bull has amazing mechanical grip (and aero grip) that’s why they can take more speed into the corners and the more twisty the track is the better for them. They lack power so what time they gain in the slower corners they lose on the straights.

 

Next year Red Bull should have more power with the Honda engine but at the same time the regulations are changing to focus more on mechanical grip (simple front wings etc) which may also suit Red Bulll so it’s why I think mercedes and Ferrari may be a little bit disadvantaged coming into 2019.

[Basil B]

2 hours ago, AJBangkok said:

Yes I get that the Red Bull has amazing mechanical grip (and aero grip) that’s why they can take more speed into the corners and the more twisty the track is the better for them. They lack power so what time they gain in the slower corners they lose on the straights.

 

Next year Red Bull should have more power with the Honda engine but at the same time the regulations are changing to focus more on mechanical grip (simple front wings etc) which may also suit Red Bulll so it’s why I think mercedes and Ferrari may be a little bit disadvantaged coming into 2019.

Yes, Red Bull Have had some good aerodynamics, but are they legal, remember when the mechanics used to stand behind the cars to stop the filming of their exhaust system, all teams are constantly testing the flexibility of the rules.  

[Mosha]

Hanoi from April 2020, and if artist impressions are anything to go by, spectators better take a book.

[Basil B]

Lewis owes Ocon a few bottles of bubbly...  

[Mosha]

5 hours ago, Basil B said:

Lewis owes Ocon a few bottles of bubbly...  

Oh but the irony. Verstappen calling someone an idiot for causing a collision. 555

Edited November 11, 2018 by Mosha

[JAS21]

5 hours ago, Mosha said:

Oh but the irony. Verstappen calling someone an idiot for causing a collision. 555

I thought Ocon wasn't that much to blame ... Verstappon still hasn't learnt when to wait ... Lewis told him that.  So a guy on new tyres wants to pass someone in a superior car on old tyres ... MV threw it awsy ... again ..m

[Basil B]

To be fair to Ocon, there is no rule to say you can not un-lap one's self...

 

He had fresh boots on and needs to attract the attention of any team looking for another driver for next year.

[VBF]

1 hour ago, Basil B said:

To be fair to Ocon, there is no rule to say you can not un-lap one's self...

 

He had fresh boots on and needs to attract the attention of any team looking for another driver for next year.

Well he certainly did that! 

[AJBangkok]

In the cool down room after the race the cameras caught Hamilton and Vercrashen discussing the incident. Hamilton said “he was entitled to unlap himself “ and Vercrashen said “yeah I know” and Hamilton then said “ and it that situation you had more to lose than he did” Vercrashen’s response was silence.

 

While Ocon’s move was rash, Vercrashen did not leave him racing room and in some ways I see it as Vercrashen has just been given a bit of his own medicine in the way he has engaged with other drivers on track this year.

[Basil B]

It was the off track incident that really needs investigating, As soon as he stepped out of his car it was clear what Verstappen's intentions were, why did not his team or the FIA/F1 officials take him on one side and let him cool down?

 

If this had happened at Silverstone the police may well have got involved like the do with similar incidents at other sporting events like football matches.

Edited November 13, 2018 by Basil B

[AJBangkok]

Actually Ocon should file assault charges against him to teach him a lesson. An off track incident where Adrian Sutil was joking around with a champagne glass and cut the owner of lotus F1 pretty much cost him his F1 career.

[Mosha]

16 hours ago, Basil B said:

It was the off track incident that really needs investigating, As soon as he stepped out of his car it was clear what Verstappen's intentions were, why did not his team or the FIA/F1 officials take him on one side and let him cool down?

 

If this had happened at Silverstone the police may well have got involved like the do with similar incidents at other sporting events like football matches.

When we were all much younger, it was almost every race where a driver would go storming into a rivals garage for a "confrontation" lol.

 

On a FB F! page the question posed was "Do we need more Verstappens in F!?" It'd be like fairground dodgems 555

[Basil B]

Hamilton facing grid penalty as looks like his third engine is <f*****>...

 

If I was him I would be thinking of starting my winter break early...

 

 

[Guest]

Horrifying crash at Macau F3 race. She was really flying to the barriers. 

 

 

[Guest]

It's the last quali for the season. It's also the last (perhaps) race weekend for Kimi driving Ferrari.

He has had quite a good end of the season, hopefully his results are going to be good on his farewell race. 

 

When I watch the quali, I can't stop thinking how boring the first two sessions really are. 

 

Perhaps the quali would be more interesting if the times of every session would be counted to the final order. If a driver does a phenomenal lap during first session, he could become the pole sitter, even if he wouldn't do a better lap during 2nd and 3rd sessions.

 

That way all the laps would be meaningful. On current system only the last session times really matter for the top teams ad drivers. 

[Guest]

Oh, I almost forgot. Isn't this the last F1 race for Alonso? Are there other drivers who will drop out after this race?

 

 

[Gulfsailor]

2 hours ago, oilinki said:

Oh, I almost forgot. Isn't this the last F1 race for Alonso? Are there other drivers who will drop out after this race?

 

 

From the top of my head; Sirotkin, Ocon and Vandoorne.

 

a quick Google; Ericsson and most likely Hartley

Edited November 24, 2018 by Gulfsailor

[Andrew Dwyer]

Max and Oco having a good old tussle !!
Can only end in tears !!

[Basil B]

Feel sorry for Bottas, his position was safe with p2 in a Mercedes 1-2 but he seems to have gone of the boil in the last few races, no doubt Toto will say nice guy to have around but in Mercedes F1 there is no room for passengers.

[AJBangkok]

I saw Botas’s post race interview and he looked to be a defeated man. He has had a horrible second half of the season and it certainly showed in his body language. I like him a lot but honestly he has to get his head together or next year will be his last year at mercedes. He was previously managed by Toto prior to joining mercedes but I think Toto is now chomping at the bit to get Ocon in a seat so unless he can turn it around convincingly he’s going to be looking for a drive in 2020.

 

Maybe that isn’t a bad thing as partnering with Hamilton leaves zero room for anything other that perfection every time he sits in the car.

 

Botas is no doubt a great driver and did have some bad luck during the season but everything being equal Hamilton consistently is able to get more out of the car than him. 

 

Maybe mercedes are happy to have him him as a safe pair of hands that doesn’t rock the Apple cart and can rack up points for the constructors championship. Which isn’t a bad strategy for them but as fans we want to see racing gladiators competing at super human levels so whenever those red lights go out we know we have a serous race on our hands with little to no chance of a predetermined outcome.