2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, or the thing that goes on while we discuss the halo

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Originally Posted by truefan72

We do Bagwan, he simply did not have the pace to keep up with the ferrari's, Hamilton and tbh verstappen.
very early in that 2nd stint he was right behind Kimi and consistently lost time behind them. It was not a matter of getting a breather then picking up his pace, he just got slower and slower.
That has been the problem with Bottas his entire career. Even the races he lead he eventually loses pace and nearly gets caught at the very end.
So yeah, he simply did not have the ability to maintain a high level of pace throughout the race and but for the graciousness of Hamilton and laps running out on verstappen, he got a podium, when at best he should have barely finished in fourth.
Earlier in the race and as soon as it was clear vettel had a problem, i was hoping that Bottas would find a way past kimi or stick close to kimi and pressure the ferrari's. But instead he just fell further and further back.

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:rolleyes:. Hamilton's the victim, Hamilton's the hero, such a tragic heroic story. Bottas could have made Hamilton's life very hard, especially on this track. He decided to be a team player and let Hamilton through, for which he actually slowed down a lot. At that point had Hamilton really earned the switch? In the end it was based on empty promises. He didn't deliver and he was a nice of enough of a guy to do nothing more than to honour an agreement they had. As opposed to some of his fans who now lament he returned the 'loan' he took.

I am just back from the Hungaroring. What a weekend! The new owners of F1 are really doing a great job in entertaining the fans at race weekends. The atmosphere was the best I can remember at a race weekend. Probably only Silverstone has an atmosphere to match!

As for the race, it wasn't particularly entertaining. This track type seems to seems to suit the Ferrari's very well. It was very clear when I was walking the track on Saturday that the Ferrari was for best handling car. The way they used the kerbs was so much crisper than the Mercedes. RBR looked great too but Ferrari's were clear favourites from start in my eyes.

The race was a different story completely. While Hamilton's action were very commendable, it is very clear that if Mercedes lose this championship it will because they refuse to implement a number one/two status. To be fair, neither Bottas or Lewis have requested it either. Ferrari have made clear both here and in Monaco that Vettel is their number one driver. I have no particular issue with what Mercedes did. I also think that Hamilton had plenty of excuses not to give the place back such as potentially losing out to Max but, once again, he showed his class and played the team game. I think we can all safely say that Vettel would not have done the same were positions reversed.

Anyway it is time for Mercedes to make a decision. Either change the rules of engagement so as the faster driver must move over as long as they are not 1-2 or set number 1 status to Lewis or Bottas or continue as is and probably lose a drivers and potentially constructors championship.

Regarding the Verstappen penalty, I think that was far too stringent. I most certainly don't like the guy nor his defending, but I don't think a mistake like that should be punished with a penalty. If anyone deserved a penalty during the race, I think it was Magnussen for his Verstappen impersonation whilst trying to keep Hülkenberg behind.

I can't agree with a No1/No2 situation. I believe if the drivers are a good enough they should be able to pass anyone at anytime. If the drivers can't then they should not complain.