Formula 1 - F1 - Current Season Discussion

[sugarbutch]

Mazespin is 100%. Schumacher was already ahead of him despite his off and two laps with a broken wing.

Lewis somehow managed to end up exactly where he was likely to end up before his off. Better to be lucky than good.

 

[Duke Santos]

My takeaways:

1. We're so used to seeing Hamilton run pole to flag that we lose sight of how great of a driver he is until we see him have to charge back through the field. Yes, I know "the car, the car, the car," but he really is GOAT.

2. Versteppen, though, has the car this year, and (as a Red Bull hater) I fear that the only thing that's going to stop him this year is a bunch of Max being Max and getting a bunch of own fault DNF's.

3. As a McLaren/Lando fan, I was thrilled with his drive today. He didn't have the car (or tires) to hold off Hamilton to the end, but I think he grew up in a big way the last ten laps of this race. Great kid who's showing himself more and more to be a great driver.

 

[monkey66]

Great race. All podiums well deserved.

 

[sugarbutch]

If Lewis had a better start, I don’t think Max would have gotten past him. The season is wide open judging by the first two races. I think it will come down to who develops/understands their car better and, as you noted, the Max-ness of Max’s year.

 

[patrick_b]

Toto on RUS: “I keep teasing him if he does a good job he can get in a Mercedes but if not he’ll be in the Renault Clio Cup and today we are closer to Renault Clio cup.”

?

 

[Duke Santos]

If Lewis had a better start, I don’t think Max would have gotten past him. The season is wide open judging by the first two races. I think it will come down to who develops/understands their car better and, as you noted, the Max-ness of Max’s year.

Yeah. Things can change with the cars over the course of the season, but for the time being Max clearly has the better car while Hamilton is clearly the better driver. It could be an epic season not only at the top but also for 3-4 between McLaren/Lando and LeClerc/Ferrari who look incredibly evenly matched. Third place in the constructors' will probably come down to whether Riccardo or Vettel get up to speed in their cars first.


And then there's always rooting against Stroll for added excitement.

 

[Texasmade]

If Lewis had a better start, I don’t think Max would have gotten past him. The season is wide open judging by the first two races. I think it will come down to who develops/understands their car better and, as you noted, the Max-ness of Max’s year.

Also Mercedes race operations vs RB operations. Right now I trust Mercedes to make the better decisions more than RB.

 

[Texasmade]

And then there's always rooting against Stroll for added excitement.

I really don’t have anything against Stroll anymore. He’s proven that he’s good enough to belong on the grid unlike Mazespin.

 

[patrick_b]

We're so used to seeing Hamilton run pole to flag that we lose sight of how great of a driver he is until we see him have to charge back through the field. Yes, I know "the car, the car, the car," but he really is GOAT.

Couldn't agree more. That battle for P2 with Lando was awesome. Lewis knew he only had a few laps but he had the pace and patience to wait until the perfect opportunity. Imagine the discipline it takes at lap 60 or 61 knowing there's only a single passing zone coming into turn the first chicane and he pulls it off with one lap top go.

Kudos to Lando for defending as long as he did. Love that he got a podium. Good on Ricciardo for taking one for the team early in the race. That can't be easy for an older, more experienced driver with 7 wins under his belt.

RE: the Russell/Botas crash, the more I watch the replay I lean toward a racing incident with Russell slightly more at fault. Both played a role in it but in the end, Botas was ahead. Russell should have backed off. The fact that the both walk away after crashing at literally the fastest point on the track and have the wherewithal to yell at each other seconds after is testament to the safety of the vehicles.

Fun watch this morning!

 

[edinatlanta]

im still learning about F1 but I'm a new fan. Always enjoyed the larger-than-life aspect to F1 and decdided to start following it. I can see there are things in the past that were absolutely better (more teams, more parity etc) but still enjoying what we've got.

Because I lived in Australia and he seems like such a good guy I like Danny Ricciardo. Can't really give a **** about teams because they are just marketing agencies.

 

[Texasmade]

Bottas giving George the finger was great.

 

[patrick_b]

im still learning about F1 but I'm a new fan. Always enjoyed the larger-than-life aspect to F1 and decdided to start following it. I can see there are things in the past that were absolutely better (more teams, more parity etc) but still enjoying what we've got.

Because I lived in Australia and he seems like such a good guy I like Danny Ricciardo. Can't really give a **** about teams because they are just marketing agencies.

Watch Drive to Survive on Netflix. It is fantastically well produced and provides some great technical data and background about the team principals and drivers. You'll be up to speed in mere hours and get acquainted with all the juicy, dramatic details (many of which are fabricated or exaggerated to make the series more like Housewives of some ****** suburb).

Danny Ric is hard not to like. You picked a good one to root for.

 

[HRoi]

This is the best season I’ve watched in a long time and it’s only 2 races old

The fact that the both walk away after crashing at literally the fastest point on the track...

And the spot where Ayrton was killed in ‘94 ?

Bottas giving George the finger was great.

I don’t blame Russell at all for reacting like he did from his point of view. But to get in the face and start screaming at a guy who’d just hit a barrier at 180, is winded and possibly injured, is not a good look. I bet this beef will simmer nicely for awhile

 

[Joffrey]

Is it just me or did the replay on F1TV cut out after 2/2.5 hours? Basically I missed the rest of the race from the restart.

I got to say I was amazed at Hamilton's saving the car from getting beached and lol'd at the immediate red flagging because of an unrelated, massive accident. That's a champion's luck right there.

One last thing: Why does F1TV's race in 30 [minutes] cut out the Bottas-Russell accident and not even mention the subsequent red flag? Kind of silly since accidents are part of motor racing and deprives someone who missed the race from getting some key details.

PS- I'm assuming they cut the accident out for "taste"? No idea honestly.

PPS - Ricciardo looks quite savvy switching to McLaren for 2021.

 

[patrick_b]

In case you missed Valteri's salute to George Russell.

Sorry for the potato quality. Evidently I can't screen cap from a DVR accessed on my PC.