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  1. #21
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    Oddly enough, I enjoyed the Monaco GP. I was delighted to see that Ricciardo could hang on. Even though it's the best track to have such a problem, I was really worried that the Red Bull would expire on him and deal him a cruel blow. Surely he's really considering jumping ship for 2019 now!

    And I also thought it was interesting to see if Hamilton would fall off the pace completely with his graining, or chance a 2-stop (Mercedes did the right thing in keeping him out). Bottas looked like he had the pace to win the damn race but not the opportunity to overtake which was a shame. And kudos to Ocon and Gasly too for strong performances, particularly the latter in fending off Hulkenberg and Verstappen in the closing stages.

    I mean, it was far from a spectacle, but I did enjoy following the different potentialities at play albeit that none came to an exciting fruition.
    Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam

  2. Likes: zako85 (29th May 2018)
  3. #22
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    It's Monaco .
    It's going within inches of the barriers at frightening speeds .

    This was just one of those races without a lot of overt chaos , which , in one of the craziest places to hold a race is a feat in itself , so I enjoyed it for at least that reason .

    I enjoy watching them not hit walls , too .
    And , I didn't know who was going to win it until the end .
    I like that , too .

    I guess 52Paddy and I are the only ones who had a good time .
    Cheers , Paddy .

  4. Likes: truefan72 (29th May 2018)
  5. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bagwan View Post
    This was just one of those races without a lot of overt chaos , which , in one of the craziest places to hold a race is a feat in itself , so I enjoyed it for at least that reason .

    I enjoy watching them not hit walls , too .
    And , I didn't know who was going to win it until the end .
    I like that , too .
    That's a fair point, but keep in mind that many drivers were just cruising and not taking any risks whatsoever, simply because there was no point whatsoever in it. In a race in which you can't overtake or be overtaken, you simply have no reason to try and go fast. So even the lack of accidents (barring Leclerc's brake failure) doesn't speak for the drivers' ability as much as the pointlessness of actually trying.

  6. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by N4D13 View Post
    In a race in which you can't overtake or be overtaken, you simply have no reason to try and go fast. So even the lack of accidents (barring Leclerc's brake failure) doesn't speak for the drivers' ability as much as the pointlessness of actually trying.
    But would this apply for ever Monaco GP ad infinitum (in this current era of regs)? Because, by your assessment, it is entirely to do with the track nature...or am I mistaken? Verstappen proved that you can make a busty overtaking manoeuvre if you give it you can pull it off. That said, he struggled to mount a challenge to Hulkenberg and Gasly in the closing stages. If that is your assessment, I don't disagree necessarily but I'm just trying to see if there's anyone or anything to apportion blame for it's lack of overtaking. Tyre management in the top runners was certainly a factor too.
    Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam

  7. Likes: N4D13 (28th May 2018)
  8. #25
    Senior Member BigWorm's Avatar
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    Those Schumacher references are really out of hand

  9. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by 52Paddy View Post
    But would this apply for ever Monaco GP ad infinitum (in this current era of regs)? Because, by your assessment, it is entirely to do with the track nature...or am I mistaken? Verstappen proved that you can make a busty overtaking manoeuvre if you give it you can pull it off. That said, he struggled to mount a challenge to Hulkenberg and Gasly in the closing stages. If that is your assessment, I don't disagree necessarily but I'm just trying to see if there's anyone or anything to apportion blame for it's lack of overtaking. Tyre management in the top runners was certainly a factor too.
    Well, it has to do with the track nature, but also with the tyres'. If you can do a one-stopper on the hypersofts and the ultrasofts, then surely that's a contributing factor as well. And of course, in other years we had harder tyres, which meant that pushing them was not as terrible, but in 2018 they were a bit on the limit with the tyres, so pushing with them on to try and overtake other drivers meant a lot of risk (tyre performance falling off a cliff) for a reward that was very dubious at best.

    Pretty much all of the last Monaco races under these regulations have been like this, only that sometimes we got rain or safety cars to spice things up. Still, of course the track is unforgiving of mistakes and a single one can mean a DNF and a safety car - this year we just got "unlucky" in that regard. It doesn't help that overtaking with the 2018 cars is also notoriously difficult.

    Keep in mind that Verstappen's passes were on cars which were MUCH slower than his, and once he passed Sainz, who was struggling a lot with his tyres and losing several seconds a lap, he was unable to overtake cars which had been a whole second slower than his* in qualifying. And we're talking about a whole second in a track where pole position was 1:12, whereas in other circuits it would be typically around 1:30 or 1:40, so a second in Monaco is more significant than anywhere else.

    * Well, Ricciardo's, but you get the point.
    Last edited by N4D13; 28th May 2018 at 17:17.

  10. #27
    Senior Member Duncan's Avatar
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    I think it was pretty telling that Seb couldn't pass Daniel, despite the latter having a busted engine and limited gearbox. It wasn't like Dan was really defending either; Seb just couldn't get closer than a second or so.

    Also, interesting side by side - check out the lap charts for China versus Monaco here:

    https://www.racefans.net/2018/04/15/...mes-and-tyres/
    https://www.racefans.net/2018/05/27/...mes-and-tyres/

  11. #28
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    Well at least Ricciardo finally got his win.

    I think the tires once again played a huge role. It seemed that the softer tires made for great lap times, but once on the back of another car nobody really made a tough move. Then again, it could be that at the pointy end of the field the drivers are simply smart enough to know that making a pass stick at Monaco is tough.

    I though Ricciardo was toast, likewise Kimi when Bottas charged up. With all the radio talk I was sure Hamilton or at least one of the front runners would go for a two stop strategy. But none of it ever happened, and things sorted out with everyone seemingly not wanting to be the one to switch, and all drivers happy with the slower laps.

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