2019 French GP - Paul Ricard Circuit

[Tazio]

Viva la France!

[gm99]

Hamilton running away with it. Wake me up when something remotely interesting happens.

[steveaki13]

Hamilton running away with it. Wake me up when something remotely interesting happens.

Is that in Formula 1 generally?

[The Black Knight]

I’m unsure if Bottas has issues or not here but, if he doesn’t, then this race by itself should be enough for Mercedes to drop him. 11.7 seconds behind Hamilton after 29 laps is utterly embarrassing ... unless he has an issue that is.

[truefan72]

Very interesting end of race betweem Norris Ricciardo Kimi and Hulkenberg. I fear Ricciardo may bevin trouble

[gm99]

I’m unsure if Bottas has issues or not here but, if he doesn’t, then this race by itself should be enough for Mercedes to drop him. 11.7 seconds behind Hamilton after 29 laps is utterly embarrassing ... unless he has an issue that is.

I think Gasly is even more embarrassing - not even in the points when his team-mate is fourth.
Mercedes just cruising, as Hamilton showed with his final lap time that was two seconds quicker than his previous laps.

[truefan72]

Agree that Gasly might be on thin ice soon, but I don't think any option is going to challenge Max at the moment. He has matured a lot in a short period of time, and with the right car I think he's become WDC material. He still makes mistakes, but a lot fewer and farther between.

I don't think it is a matter of beating max at this point. It is more about picking up the slack and finishing consistently in the top 7. Finishing behind both renaults and a sauber in this race just won't do.
I know he started on the softs...but still.

[N. Jones]

Gasly has been nothing short of a disaster.

[truefan72]

Gasly has been nothing short of a disaster.

To be honest, they treated Ricciardo like the red headed stepchild last year, and don't even try and hide the fact that Gasly and his side of the garage is essentially an afterthought to them as they are all on board the verstappen train. So in a small way i don't blame Gasly for feeling a bit lost in the team and thus affecting his confidence. If there is one thing RBR does poorly, is how they manage and deal with their drivers. I would even understand the strategy if Verstappen was fighting for a WDC but he isn't. With a better team strategy they could have been in a close fight for p2 in the WCC. But they chose to simply ignore one side of the garage and then expect top results while being handicapped. My qualms with Gasly is that he isn't doing what ricciardo did last year who, after it became clear what the situation was, just did his own thing and turned that anger into a defiance in both driving and results. Show some fight and spirit Gasly. then let those mysterious engine and mechanical failures be your undoing instead of lackluster drives.

[The Black Knight]

I think Gasly is even more embarrassing - not even in the points when his team-mate is fourth.
Mercedes just cruising, as Hamilton showed with his final lap time that was two seconds quicker than his previous laps.

Gasly goes without saying as does Stroll. Stroll has had enough time to improve and shouldn't be driving a F1 car but I think Gasly needs more time yet in the RBR. But for a driver in a Mercedes to be that far behind his teammate, especially when this is supposed to be the all new improved Bottas v2.0 this year, it's pretty poor. And it turns out he had no issues either, he just wasn't quick enough. At least he has admitted it after the race anyway. Hopefully he'll come back strong in Austria, he needs to come back strong to keep his seat for next year. If Ferrari were real challengers to Mercedes this year he likely would have finished 4th or lower today while Hamilton won the race.

Hamilton stated this weekend that he is finally getting comfortable with this years Mercedes now and that is pretty ominous for Bottas and the rest of the grid. Unless Bottas can find another gear, or Hamilton has reliability issues, it's hard too see him not picking up a 6th WDC now. Furthermore to that, he might even match Michael's 91 wins this year if he wins all the remaining GP. There's only 13 remaining and he has 78 race wins. Although unlikely to be beaten this year, he will surely surpass it this year or next.