Mexico 2016

[Bagwan]

Here we go again .
Lewis is looking strong and Nico is looking comfortable in second , but , will it last .
Both of them could be under threat here , with a couple of efficient aero Bulls behind them .
Neither can afford a DNF here , or it's either over , or a new game .

The track should be much grippier than last year , with the tarmac having had a year to settle in and gas off .

This could be fun to watch .

[Bagwan]

I agree , bagwan .
It looks like it might be an interesting one .

Those red cars looked fast today .
It'd be nice to have them really in the mix , too .

That thin air , with such high elevation , is going to make those Mercs nervous , as they already have issues in the low pressure zone behind other cars .

[Bagwan]

Mind you , bagwan , I think you heard Vettel say he thought Hamilton's lap looked a little scrappy , so there should be more to come .

And , didn't you read somewhere that Seb was on a softer compound ?

[Nitrodaze]

:-) u r losing it buddy

But l agree, this could be a cracking race. The Ferraris seem strong. But l think the Merc would turn up the wick on sunday and leave them for dust. Rosberg needs good reliability and to keep out of trouble; to keep the title fire burning. Hamilton just needs to win and hope for some miracle. Kind of reminds me of the plight Massa in Interlagos 2008, you might say Hamilton is getting a taste of that.

[Tazio]

Kind of reminds me of the plight Massa in Interlagos 2008, you might say Hamilton is getting a taste of that.

Lewis needs Nico to pull a Lewis a la 2007

[N4D13]

Surprising that Kyvat was out on Q1 while Sainz made it to Q3. I'm surprised that Toro Rosso are sticking with him for next year.

[AndyL]

Now will Seb get a penalty for blocking Hamilton? I think he'll probably get away with it since it didn't really cost Hamilton anything.

[AndyL]

Surprising that Kyvat was out on Q1 while Sainz made it to Q3. I'm surprised that Toro Rosso are sticking with him for next year.

Kvyat had some sort of car problem didn't he? He was unable to make a second run. But it's true he has been outperformed by Sainz since dropping back to the junior team.
Gasly is at the front of Red Bull's queue to replace Kvyat, and reportedly Red Bull don't think he's ready for F1 yet, even after two and a half years in GP2. So I guess it's lucky for Kvyat that the pressure from below isn't so strong at the moment.

[N4D13]

Kvyat had some sort of car problem didn't he? He was unable to make a second run. But it's true he has been outperformed by Sainz since dropping back to the junior team.

I didn't know that, as I missed part of Q1. Thanks for the clarification.

[jens]

Rosberg saved his a$$ with his final qualifying lap. Driving for P2's works for him in terms of title for now, but competition is uncomfortably close to Merc this time from Nico's point of view.

Oh, and I have to spare a comment about Vettel too, the driver I am most cheering for. But apparently it looks like he has forgotten, how to even qualify. Which throughout years was always his strength and even in 2014 he was pretty formidable in qualis (but lost out to Ricciardo in races).

Vettel is a somewhat unique case among drivers as it seems like he is a pretty emotional/sensitive character, and this influences his performances. Which means he needs a "positive vibe" in the team to deliver results. Last year he was brilliant, and we remember 2015 was a positive year for Ferrari. Even 2016 started out on a pretty promising note, but some crashes, reliability problems and car performance problems have broken Vettel. It looks like the British Grand Prix was the turning point of the season, where Seb lost his heart. Since then he has been merely matching Räikkönen.

I know from personal experience that "things going for you" or "things working against you" can influence the emotional state and also influence "performance" to put it this way. So I can relate to Vettel. He is not like Alonso in this sense, who can swallow all the cr@p, dig deep, and still wring the speed out of the car to achieve a ... P10.

On the flipside Kimi has had a really solid season. I have been calling for his retirement for years already TBH, but I give credit, where credit is due. This year he is performing like a very solid #2 at the very least.