Page 10 of 11 FirstFirst ... 891011 LastLast
Results 91 to 100 of 104
  1. #91
    Senior Member journeyman racer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    1,077
    Like
    256
    Liked 146 Times in 113 Posts
    You'd hope that it isn't a new Bottas this year? Otherwise Hamilton fans won't be able to enjoy watching the races. British psychiatrists will also be inundated with work.

    You've got to love the logic though. Bottas has a barnstormer of a race putting 20secs on Hamilton, and it's all down to a minor break of the bodywork. Then the situation is reversed in Bahrain, and Hamilton is god again while Bottas is a ********. So according to TBK, the break of Hamilton's car in Melbourne cost him 40+secs!!!

    Makes sense...

    It's only two races. So far though they tell contrasting stories for Bottas. If Bottas drove perfectly last year, he'd still at best finish 2nd. In Melbourne, he was perfect and won. In Bahrain, he was terrible and struggled with difficulties and still finished 2nd. Whereas last year in a similar situation, he'd be 4th or worse.

    As long as the points are close and Ferrari are no threat, MB won't be favouring team orders for Hamilton like they did last year. Never mind not allowing Bottas challenge for the win in Germany and the Russia thing. After Canada, Vettel took the championship lead by 1pt from Hamilton with Bottas about 35 back. Vettel/Ferrari were a serious threat for the championship, and MB weren't going to be complacent or appease a theatre going audience.

    It's not just Germany and Russia. It was all the remaining races and prior to the weekend beginning. Everything would've been done to ensure Hamilton's result was optimised. A 1-2 in the championship would've been ideal, but it's not the priority. Not only did Bottas not win a race last year, he didn't even beat Hamilton in head to head once after Canada, 14 races. Unknowledgeable fans think it's a superiority of Hamilton all due to an inherent gift? No, there's always a lot more to racing than seen.

    That's how teams operate. That's why they let Bottas get some glory with the FL stats. That's why they offer him another contract when some of you would've burnt him at the stake think you knew better. They know he's capable and was pulling his weight. But under the circumstances, his result were expendable.

    Quote Originally Posted by N4D13 View Post
    And Bottas is 4 seconds behind Hamilton after 8 laps. So much for his title contender status.
    20 remaining races. It took the first 8 laps.

    I wonder what took you so long?
    Last edited by journeyman racer; 3rd April 2019 at 13:47.

  2. #92
    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 gm99 View Post
    Gasly has been very inconsistent even last year. Terrible on his debut in Melbourne, great in Bahrain, nowhere in China, the list goes on...
    Also, it's not the sole responsibilty of the engineers to set up the car, AFAIK the driver has something to do with it as well. Ricciardo may have been "unlucky" last year, but he was fast. Gasly so far is nowhere near where DR was last year.
    Much of last year, Torro Rosso was the guinea pig of Honda and Redbull. Inconsistencies could be due to the engine development programmes that Torro Rosso had to try out in the races. When it ran good, Gasly was always up there in the top ten. I was kind of hoping to see his true potential this year in the Redbull. But he has languished at the bottom end of the midfield in a car that is capable of podium positions. And this is not because the junior champ has suddenly forgotten how to race. It is more a case of not having the car he likes under him.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  3. Likes: truefan72 (4th April 2019)
  4. #93
    Senior Member truefan72's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Philadelphia
    Posts
    5,943
    Like
    1,228
    Liked 373 Times in 289 Posts
    I see Ferrari tried their best to keep LeClerc behind Vettel. SMH
    http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/...orders-bahrain
    you can't argue with results.

  5. #94
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    2,858
    Like
    62
    Liked 478 Times in 371 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by truefan72 View Post
    I see Ferrari tried their best to keep LeClerc behind Vettel. SMH
    http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/...orders-bahrain
    Mentioned that in my previous post. Don’t think they did their level best when they said stay behind for two laps. I don’t think they could have kept him behind with that pace difference so early in the race.

  6. Likes: truefan72 (5th April 2019)
  7. #95
    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
    I see Ferrari tried their best to keep LeClerc behind Vettel. SMH
    http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/...orders-bahrain
    This pairing is one to watch this season. I think Vettel is going to have to drive out of his skin to keep the rookie behind. Somehow, l think Leclerc may have the measure of Vettel this season. But l fully expect it to hot up as we go into the final races of the first quarter. Binotto have a job on his hands, no doubt.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
    William Shakespeare

  8. #96
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2001
    Location
    To the right of the left
    Posts
    3,746
    Like
    3
    Liked 141 Times in 111 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Nitrodaze View Post
    This pairing is one to watch this season. I think Vettel is going to have to drive out of his skin to keep the rookie behind. Somehow, l think Leclerc may have the measure of Vettel this season. But l fully expect it to hot up as we go into the final races of the first quarter. Binotto have a job on his hands, no doubt.
    LeClerc should not (normally) be this competitive this early. Vettel will definitely have his hands full. We'll see how the season progresses. I'm looking forward to one of the more interesting seasons in a while.
    "Old roats am jake mit goats."
    -- Smokey Stover

  9. Likes: airshifter (6th April 2019),Tazio (6th April 2019),truefan72 (6th April 2019)
  10. #97
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    6,124
    Like
    635
    Liked 668 Times in 466 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Starter View Post
    LeClerc should not (normally) be this competitive this early. Vettel will definitely have his hands full. We'll see how the season progresses. I'm looking forward to one of the more interesting seasons in a while.
    I would think by now Ferrari would let the youngster race, and quit catering to Vettel. I think they are often their own worst enemy when they do that so early in the season.

    Overall I think Vettel has slipped. He did well when in the strongest car, but in the past couple of years he has been making a lot of mistakes that are costing him points.

    If Ferrari can hold it together, I think there is a good chance that Leclerc will be their first new WDC since Kimi. We know Alonso could have got it done in a stronger car, but I tend to think that Seb has missed his chances unless team politics come into the picture.

  11. Likes: Tazio (6th April 2019)
  12. #98
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    2,946
    Like
    173
    Liked 308 Times in 206 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by airshifter View Post

    Overall I think Vettel has slipped. He did well when in the strongest car, but in the past couple of years he has been making a lot of mistakes that are costing him points.
    Yep, every time I see him spin, I cant help but think that he really needs the old RBs with the blown diffusers to be at his best. He looked unbeatable back then... now he just looks a mid tier driver.

  13. #99
    Senior Member journeyman racer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    1,077
    Like
    256
    Liked 146 Times in 113 Posts
    Just something to consider. I emphasise "consider". Nico Rosberg, in one of his YT videos of Bahrain, pointed out that Bahrain is an (I'm paraphrasing) easy circuit for a new guy, less experienced, or disadvantageous driver. Pointing out his FL he set on debut, numerous guys getting their first PP there, and it was the first time Hamilton got the better of Alonso in 07.*

    There's still a long way to go for the season to play out. Obviously Leclerc will have his weekend where he gets the better of Vettel, but Rosberg does make a worthwhile point.

    *After all these years, I've found another statistic in the Alonso/Hamilton stoush Hamilton fans won't like. Alonso beat Hamilton head to head that year, 10-7.

  14. #100
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Posts
    2,858
    Like
    62
    Liked 478 Times in 371 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Zico View Post
    Yep, every time I see him spin, I cant help but think that he really needs the old RBs with the blown diffusers to be at his best. He looked unbeatable back then... now he just looks a mid tier driver.
    Did he ever look like anything other really apart from his first win? There’s no doubting Vettel is super talented but I think he was always made look better than what he was because of the machinery he had and a teammate he could easily cover with Mark Webber. As soon as he had a top teammate in Daniel Ricciardo he could not live with him. From the first race in Oz where Daniel out qualified Vettel, he really looked like he had the upper hand over Vettel all year long. He couldn’t even score a race win while Ricciardo takes 3 that year.

    And before 2014 he had shown glimpses of being prone to cracking under pressure. Canada 2011 for example where he gifted Button the win by running wide at turn 6.

    Maybe Vettel will come back and prove me wrong. I actually hope he does but right now, I agree he very much looks like an ordinary mid tier driver and he has for some time.

Posting Permissions

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