Page 3 of 8 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 72
  1. #21
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Greenwich, London UK
    Posts
    3,438
    Like
    14
    Liked 789 Times in 651 Posts
    Who is your money on now????
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  2. #22
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    1,583
    Like
    68
    Liked 182 Times in 139 Posts
    The way I see it, it is 50-50 now. After the 2017 season, I have been thinking that Hamilton is a more balanced and well-rounded driver, and with the superior Mercedes car he should certainly win. But at the rate his team keeps making strategy mistakes, or his car fails, or he makes bad starts.. or just because of bad luck, I think Vettel has a very good, not some kind of an outside or theoretical, chance of winning.

  3. #23
    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 zako85 View Post
    The way I see it, it is 50-50 now. After the 2017 season, I have been thinking that Hamilton is a more balanced and well-rounded driver, and with the superior Mercedes car he should certainly win. But at the rate his team keeps making strategy mistakes, or his car fails, or he makes bad starts.. or just because of bad luck, I think Vettel has a very good, not some kind of an outside or theoretical, chance of winning.

    The Mercedes is not looking like the superior car at the moment. Some may argue that the Ferrari is the superior car so far this season. How l see it, is that the championship is Vettel's to win or lose. Hamilton would have to do something quite extraordinary to steal it from Vettel come Abu Dhabi.

    I have a feeling that Mercedes may stop developing this car soon and move their focus to their 2019 car. Which may mean that Hamilton may have to win it with an inferior car to the Ferrari. Monza has clearly shown that they are both close, but Ferrari have a few tenths over the Mercedes and they basically perform well on most types of tracks, which is something that Mercedes cannot say. A few tenths is enough to win both the Constructors and drivers championships.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 1st September 2018 at 16:50.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  4. #24
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    1,583
    Like
    68
    Liked 182 Times in 139 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    The Mercedes is not looking like the superior car at the moment. Some may argue that the Ferrari is the superior car so far this season.
    I think this is correct. Over this summer we have seen in many cases where the Ferrari power is superior, maybe by a little notch, but not in same the way Mercedes was dominant over everyone in 2014-2016.

  5. #25
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    6,123
    Like
    634
    Liked 666 Times in 464 Posts
    Hamilton is fighting hard to overcome what seems to be a slightly superior Ferrari as the season rolls on. And the only way Vettel is going to get back in the fight is if he quits screwing himself and driving like he isn't already a multiple WDC driver.

    At this point I think Lewis is in Seb's head, and will continue to be until Lewis gets the WDC this year.

  6. #26
    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 airshifter View Post
    Hamilton is fighting hard to overcome what seems to be a slightly superior Ferrari as the season rolls on. And the only way Vettel is going to get back in the fight is if he quits screwing himself and driving like he isn't already a multiple WDC driver.

    At this point I think Lewis is in Seb's head, and will continue to be until Lewis gets the WDC this year.
    As it stands at the moment with Hamilton leading with 30 championship points, it would take Vettel five race wins to get back in the lead if Hamilton finishes second at those races and both of them do not have DNF or drop out of podium positions.

    If Hamilton scores 14 more points than Vettel over the next two races, chances are that Vettel would need Hamilton to have some bad luck at the same time [Vettel] winning all races to the end of the season. With what happened in Monza and the rumour that Kimi is out from next season, l think Seb may not be getting Kimi's help going forward. Which would make it harder for Vettel to consistently beat Hamilton till the end of the season.

    I have a feeling that the outcome of the driver's championship may be decided in a few races time.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 12th November 2018 at 12:06.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  7. #27
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    1,583
    Like
    68
    Liked 182 Times in 139 Posts
    Let's not build the whole possibilities tree as we still have one third of the championship ahead. Having said that, a 30 point deficit is not working in Vettel's favor right now.

  8. #28
    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 zako85 View Post
    Let's not build the whole possibilities tree as we still have one third of the championship ahead. Having said that, a 30 point deficit is not working in Vettel's favor right now.
    Fair point, l think reliability from this point may play a role in deciding which way it would go. This time last year Ferrari started to experience reliability issues. I have a feeling they would be better this year. The Mercedes package is not immune to reliability issues as we have noticed in the first half of the season, hence they have to keep on top of it as well.

    On the driver front, the Mercedes pair are outperforming the combined Ferrari pair. But that may change. Somehow, l doubt it. the dynamics in the Ferrari team appears to be tense with Kimi not sure of keeping his seat next season. There also seem to be a slight tension developing between Kimi and Vettel.

    The moment when Kimi took pole on Saturday, the cameras on sky switched to the Ferrari pitwall, the chaps at the Ferrari pitwall were clearly shocked and alarmed that he took pole. It was clear they would switch the drivers after the first lap if Vettel do not get ahead of Kimi.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  9. #29
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    1,610
    Like
    301
    Liked 180 Times in 140 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    With what happened in Monza and the rumour that Kimi ios out from next season, l think Seb may not be getting Kimi's help going forward. Which would make it harder for Vettel to consistently beat Hamilton till the end of the season.
    To be honest, Kimi hasn't really been much help to Vettel this season anyway, at least not in terms of taking points away from Hamilton.
    Oct. 31, 1999 - one of the blackest days in motorsports.

  10. #30
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    2,858
    Like
    62
    Liked 478 Times in 371 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by zako85 View Post
    Let's not build the whole possibilities tree as we still have one third of the championship ahead. Having said that, a 30 point deficit is not working in Vettel's favor right now.
    If Hamilton wins the next two races, he can finish 2nd in the remaining races and still be champion. But this is F1 and one DNF for Hamilton and the championship is open again. Based on what has happened so far this year, it would be a tragedy for Vettel to become champion. He hasn’t really had many great races or drove like a true champion much this year, however, all that matters is who is ahead in Abu Dhabi. As long as Hamilton remains focused I think he will be champion unless he has a run of very bad luck. Reliability may make a massive difference in the championship. Vettel can’t afford a DNF or it is game over if Lewis extends his lead to 55 points.

Posting Permissions

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