Abu Driver of the Race

[rjbetty]

Well then it's all settled, but which drivers drove less rubbish than the others? :D

1.Ricciardo got 3rd from the pitlane? Hamilton did that in Hungary but Ricciardo in a mere Red Bull. Not bad. Not bad. EDIT: It was 4th

2.Felipe almost winning.

3.Probably Hammy I guess for his start and not doing a Brazil 2008, or 2007 come to think of it, but finally seeming to have overcome his nerves and just do the job!

[A FONDO]

Clearly Ricciardo by far.

[rjbetty]

Yeah Ricciardo was almost 35sec ahead of Vettel o.o How did he manage that?


P.S. beat you to it Steveaki13, opening this thread *blows massive raspberry*

[Triumph]

Lewis, obviously.

Well done to Lewis. He did deserve this, all things considered. I think he will make it Championship No.3 next year as well. With equal reliability I can't see Nico beating him over a whole season, and I don't think any of the other teams will catch up with Mercedes, so it's looking good for Lewis for at least one more year.

[jens]

Driver of the race itself? Massa and Ricciardo. Both of them.

[driveace]

Lewis as driver of the race .A fantastic start,and never looked back .
Nico may have had more support ,but for the problem in Spa and Monacco ,the way he played his cards there.
Good drivers of the year are Ricciardo,and Bottas ,who with the right equipment will be world champions too in future years.

[Zico]

Massa and Ricciardo.

I was tempted to give it to Lewis as he was faultless and made an incredible start but had so much of an advantage that he was coasting it compared to the others. Doubt he'd be dissapointed in my vote though with being WDC.. ;)

[driveace]

And the pleading from Lewis to the team "Please ,please guys don't turn my engine back up " !

[Zico]

And the pleading from Lewis to the team "Please ,please guys don't turn my engine back up " !


Yep, that surpised me as I totally hadn't realised the pitwall could still control these parameters.

[Doc Austin]

Yep, that surpised me as I totally hadn't realised the pitwall could still control these parameters.

And yet, the FIA wants to control what you can and can't say over the radio.

[zako85]

Massa. Can't give it to Hamilton. The race was over after Rosberg lost his car.

[MrJan]

Rosberg. Although he got a bit stroppy at times he showed real class in wanting to get the car over the line.

Other than that Hamilton had a solid driver and Ricciardo was yet again far more impressive than his multi-championship winning team mate

[steveaki13]

P.S. beat you to it Steveaki13, opening this thread *blows massive raspberry*

Hey :mad: I was away until after the race so it wasn't a fair fight

[steveaki13]

Driver of the Race:

Felipe Massa - It was close and probably Daniel could have won it, but I will give it to Felipe. Raced hard and fast with no mistakes and matched and raced a Mercedes.

Other Mentions:

Daniel Ricciardo - Amazing drive from the pits to 4th. Should have probably won the award from me.

Lewis Hamilton - Great start and nice drive. To win his 11th race of the season. Great effort to win his title.

Valterri Bottas - Another good job after that poor start. Glad he got onto the Podium

Jenson Button - Again a brilliant effort in that Mclaren. Can't believe we are likely to never see Jenson in F1 again.

Will Stevens - A mention for finishing his first race only a lap down in a car that was thrown onto the grid.

[Mia 01]

Felipe Massa for me.

[truefan72]

Massa. Can't give it to Hamilton. The race was over after Rosberg lost his car.

and what exactly did massa do all race?
started 4th gained from another terrible bottas start and then cruised himself all race long unchallenged

[Rollo]

And yet, the FIA wants to control what you can and can't say over the radio.

I think it would be easier just to ban radio communication. Let the pitboards do the talking.

[truefan72]

I think it would be easier just to ban radio communication. Let the pitboards do the talking.

not to argue this issue again, but i think the FIA should stay out of the radio communications regulations. let teams and drivers decide what information they want and don't to be transmitted over the radio.
Like i said before, the only reason it was even an issue is because the FIAS themselves decided to broadcast those communications, and did a piss poor job of deciding what was broadcast and what was not. So instead of acknowledging their own shortcoming and tightening up what messages they provide, they instead handicap the teams so they can continue to be lazy about their own production. and in doing so have created, as usual, more confusion and additional problems where non existed before. it was a knee jerk reaction to some pundits, uninformed fans and butter former drivers, who would probably have a difficult time getting these very complex cars off the grid without some assistance, especially if things started going wrong and several, bleeps and lights started to come on.

[airshifter]

Ricciardo and Massa, in that order.

After that, a lot of great drives in the top 10.

[Whyzars]

Ricciardo for me but I'm puzzled.

How does Ricciardo start behind Vettel based on P3 times and go on to finish 37 seconds off the win and 35 seconds in front of Vettel?

It was a strong drive by Ricciardo but starting from the pit lane is supposed to be a penalty isn't it?

There's something not right...

[Whyzars]

... who would probably have a difficult time getting these very complex cars off the grid without some assistance, especially if things started going wrong and several, bleeps and lights started to come on.

The FIA should ban radio communication first and pit interventions second.

At what point does the driver become ballast? This is thin end of the wedge stuff. At what level of pit assistance do we compromise the drivers championship?

The cars are spending less time wholly on the track than at any time in F1 history.

F1 is still a match between drivers but, with the precision of cornering being relaxed, will these "very complex cars" be effectively driverless in our lifetimes?

[steveaki13]

Ricciardo for me but I'm puzzled.

How does Ricciardo start behind Vettel based on P3 times and go on to finish 37 seconds off the win and 35 seconds in front of Vettel?

It was a strong drive by Ricciardo but starting from the pit lane is supposed to be a penalty isn't it?

There's something not right...

I agree, it does seem far to easy to come back through the field. I mean he had not fights until getting to the top 6.

I think DRS is to blame for a lot of these things personally

[Doc Austin]

The FIA should ban radio communication first and pit interventions second.


Personally I would like to see Pirelli make a tire that will barely go the whole race, and lower the pit speed limit to the point that stopping for new tires would ruin your race. Then everything is up to the driver. You either take care of the tires or you stop and lose too much time.

That's the way it was in the old days. Clark and Hill and Stewart and Fittipaldi and Brabham and Andretti never made a pit stop unless they had a problem.

I have never found pit stops to be very interesting, but perhaps that's because I get enough of that in Indycars and Nascar. Certainly the pit stops give the commentators something to talk about, but I think the racing is better if you don't break it up with stops.

[MrJan]

Ricciardo for me but I'm puzzled.

How does Ricciardo start behind Vettel based on P3 times and go on to finish 37 seconds off the win and 35 seconds in front of Vettel?

It was a strong drive by Ricciardo but starting from the pit lane is supposed to be a penalty isn't it?

There's something not right...

The difference between the teams this year seems to be quite defined. I wasn't too surprised to see Daniel get as high up as he did, the Ferraris have been nowhere and most of the rest of the field aren't up to it. Not sure how he ended up passing the to McLarens, but I suppose if your strategy is right then you don't get too much traffic...plus Ricciardo is one of the best overtakers on the grid.

As for beating Vettel.....well, I think that Alonso makes the point as succinctly as I could https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEzqCcF2mps

Not sure when the interview was (although clearly a couple of years ago) but I find it amazing the regard that he holds for Lewis, especially given the history that they had. I think it's the last sentence that surprises me most. However in my mind Daniel seems to be as capable, a driver that can win in a car that should be finishing 5th or 6th. Makes me regret everything that I've ever said about drivers at the tail end of the grid, because I never realised that Ricciardo was as quick as he is.

[N. Jones]

Massa for putting in a great second. I hope Williams win some races next season!