Page 4 of 7 FirstFirst ... 23456 ... LastLast
Results 31 to 40 of 64
  1. #31
    Senior Member truefan72's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Philadelphia
    Posts
    5,943
    Like
    1,228
    Liked 373 Times in 289 Posts
    ...and this is why bottas is a #2 driver.
    Just not quick enough nor does he have the guile craftsmanship or instinct to pass a very beatable vettel.
    Its rather pathetic imo.
    Alonso in the mclaren in the exact same position would have overtaken him.

  2. Likes: A FONDO (8th April 2018),BigWorm (8th April 2018),Tazio (8th April 2018)
  3. #32
    Senior Member Tazio's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    San Diego, Ca
    Posts
    15,361
    Like
    1,116
    Liked 643 Times in 508 Posts
    I thought Vettel had a pretty gritty performance. But yeah, Fred would have passed him, as would the Boss!
    May the forza be with you

  4. Likes: Duncan (8th April 2018)
  5. #33
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    1,610
    Like
    301
    Liked 180 Times in 140 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by longisland View Post
    Great race. 8.5/10. Great midfield battle, good last few laps battle in the front & awesome drive from Gasly. My vote for drive of the race. Great drive from Ericsson. First points in 5 years.
    In fifty races - five years ago, Ericsson wasn't even in F1. But I agree, great drive from him.
    Williams & Force India the only two teams without points so far.
    Oct. 31, 1999 - one of the blackest days in motorsports.

  6. #34
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    463
    Like
    0
    Liked 46 Times in 41 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by gm99 View Post
    In fifty races - five years ago, Ericsson wasn't even in F1. But I agree, great drive from him.
    Williams & Force India the only two teams without points so far.
    Ocon is in 10th so 1 point perhaps. Donkeys
    Williams, Ferrari Pit Crew, Redbull.

  7. #35
    Senior Member A FONDO's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    2,273
    Like
    3,043
    Liked 467 Times in 284 Posts
    Pretty decent race actually, hope China won't be boring either in a few days.

  8. #36
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Seville
    Posts
    1,562
    Like
    279
    Liked 203 Times in 148 Posts
    Bunch of thoughts here.

    First, my driver of the race is Vettel for pulling a ridiculous number of laps from a set that Pirelli said would last only 30 laps. Gasly drove a fine race, but he was mostly unchallenged from the start and seemed to have a faster car than his pursuers, so it's difficult for me to rate him. It doesn't take anything away from the fact that he drove very well, but I believe it's too early to know whether this is a champion in the making. (On top of that, no one would be making a fuss about Gasly if the Bulls and Räikkönen wouldn't have scored DNFs, which would have left him in seventh place)

    Second, overtaking looked really difficult here today as well. Either you had a significant laptime advantage or overtaking was essentially impossible. This helped create very large gaps between teammates who shouldn't be that far off in pace (e.g., Hülkenberg vs Sainz or Gasly vs Hartley). I'm particularly gutted that Sainz finished off the points while the Hulk was sixth - he's been beaten by his teammate twice so far, even though he doesn't seem to be very far off the pace.

    Third, the midfield seems to be extremely close, which combined with the previous point means that qualifying and the start of the race are going to be even more critical this year. Whatever progress you can't make in the first two laps of the race, you won't be able to make at all barring pitstops, retirements or clever pit strategies. It also means that we might see a few more one-stoppers this year trying to rock the boat.

    Fourth, Honda seem to have got a decent engine this time around, even if it's still looking rather unreliable judging by Gasly's retirement in Oz. Still, you need to ask how much of the performance comes from the chassis and how much from the engine itself - Toro Rosso were a full second behind Red Bull with a Renault engine. It could be all chassis, which means that the Honda engine is on par with Renault, but that would be rather surprising given their history.

    Fifth, Red Bull are my donkeys of the race, for terribly obvious reasons. Alonso was spot on with his predictions hoping that McLaren might be able to take the fight up to them. Well, turns out even Williams did.

    Sixth, as I've mentioned several times already in this forum, I would imagine that Merc must be ruing the decision to keep Bottas on for another year. Good thing they've got Ricciardo waiting on the wings (I'm not so convinced about Ocon, though).
    Last edited by N4D13; 8th April 2018 at 19:05.

  9. Likes: A FONDO (8th April 2018),Duncan (8th April 2018)
  10. #37
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    1,610
    Like
    301
    Liked 180 Times in 140 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by longisland View Post
    Ocon is in 10th so 1 point perhaps. Donkeys
    Williams, Ferrari Pit Crew, Redbull.
    Yes, you're right of course. So only Williams without points so far this season.
    Oct. 31, 1999 - one of the blackest days in motorsports.

  11. #38
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Greenwich, London UK
    Posts
    3,438
    Like
    14
    Liked 789 Times in 651 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by truefan72 View Post
    ...and this is why bottas is a #2 driver.
    Just not quick enough nor does he have the guile craftsmanship or instinct to pass a very beatable vettel.
    Its rather pathetic imo.
    Alonso in the mclaren in the exact same position would have overtaken him.
    Totally agree. He is clearly out at the end of the season. They missed Rosberg on this occasion. I think they would be looking for a replacement like Ricciado or even Ocon. I think either of these guys would have put the pressure enough to make the pass happen.

    Good recovery by Hamilton but Vettel has extented his lead. It was not one of his good weekends you might say. But l think we should start to ask the question; Is Ferrari actually the team to beat this season. That said, it would be crazy to start writing off the silver arrow.

    WHAT ABOUT PIERRE GASLY? Torro Rosso with a Honda powered engine in the hands of Pierre Gasly finishes fourth. Bettering the best Alonso in a Honda powered Mclaren could manage.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 8th April 2018 at 22:55.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  12. #39
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    2,858
    Like
    62
    Liked 478 Times in 371 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    Totally agree. He is clearly out at the end of the season. They missed Rosberg on this occasion. I think they would be looking for a replacement like Ricciado or even Ocon. I think either of these guys would have put the pressure enough to make the pass happen.

    Good recovery by Hamilton but Vettel has extented his lead. It was not one his good weekends you might say. But l think we should start to ask the question; Is Ferrari actually the team to beat this season. That said, it would be crazy to start writing off the silver arrow.

    WHAT ABOUT PIERRE GASLY? Torro Rosso with a Honda powered engine in the hands of Pierre Gasly finishes fourth. Bettering the best Alonso in a Honda powered Mclaren could manage.
    Bottas hasn’t covered himself in glory the last two races. Hamilton has had horrid luck. Bottas luck has been fine and not managed to win a race. He really should have won today. How Ocon does this year against Perez will determine if Mercedes move for him. He needs to beat Perez. How convincingly he does this will determine Mercedes interest. Unless Bottas improves drastically, I’d put Ricciardo in the driving seat.

  13. #40
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Greenwich, London UK
    Posts
    3,438
    Like
    14
    Liked 789 Times in 651 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by longisland View Post
    Great race. 8.5/10. Great midfield battle, good last few laps battle in the front & awesome drive from Gasly. My vote for drive of the race. Great drive from Ericsson. First points in 5 years.
    Yea Ericsson would be over the moon. It was brilliant to see the Sauber fighting in the points. He has really carried the touch of the lead driver for the team.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  14. Likes: Mia 01 (9th April 2018)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •