2020 F1 - Part II

[Siamese Dream]

Horrible for George but Perez getting his first win in possibly his last season was the 2nd most favourable result

 

[Paris in Flames]

2020 such a wild year for F1. Just look at these vague and out of context statements of shit that's gone down.

- Pierre Gasly won a race

- A driver under contract to Williams led and dominated most of a race

- Lance Stroll took pole and then led 30+ laps.

- Sergio Perez wins a race 1 week before his career in F1 could in theory end.

- Romain Grosjean became one of the most beloved drivers on the grid in the matter of a week.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Merc completely f***s over Russell, then lets Bottas defend despite russells pace advantage.

Merc pitwall ruined what should have been the best race of the season. It's clear George > Valterri, but you know Merc would never admit that despite this race being proof.

f*** YOU MERCEDES.

Quite the contrary; Mercedes was stupid for letting Russell race Bottas, when he was guaranteed to get disqualified after the race for driving with Bottas' tyres..

 

[Ceremony]

Important to remember that Sainz could have been up fighting for a win if he hadn't been pitted too late under the VSC.

 

[MXD]

Quite the contrary; Mercedes was stupid for letting Russell race Bottas, when he was guaranteed to get disqualified after the race for driving with Bottas' tyres..

Also, Mercedes had "individual" warts for both drivers (Bottas had a 27 second pit stop; mixed tyres for Russell) when they didn't even have to stop in first place.

Hopefully Russell drives for Merc next week (not wishing HAM any Covid-related harm of course).

 

[Paris in Flames]

Important to remember that Sainz could have been up fighting for a win if he hadn't been pitted too late under the VSC.

True but Sainz will have plenty of chances to win with Ferr....oh.

 

[MXD]

Important to remember that Sainz could have been up fighting for a win if he hadn't been pitted too late under the VSC.

He had troubles catching up Stroll on somewhat mangled tyres.

I don't think he would've held under Perez' eventual pressure.

 

[Paris in Flames]

Yeah. Sainz, despite being within a second of Stroll, never really made it seem like he was capable of a real challenge there.

And Perez was a man possessed. Impossible to know what happens but Perez was driving a hell of a race.

 

[Siamese Dream]

Also, Mercedes had "individual" warts for both drivers (Bottas had a 27 second pit stop; mixed tyres for Russell) when they didn't even have to stop in first place.

Hopefully Russell drives for Merc next week (not wishing HAM any Covid-related harm of course).

Yep, I'm absolutely baffled that they pitted and double-stacked them. They were running 1-2 and would've easily got to the end on the current tires, and with Max out of the race they didn't really have anyone they needed to cover off for the safety car. They're so much faster than everyone else they were still all but guaranteed a 1-2 after the restart.

 

[Khelandros]

No we won't. Here is what is going to happen;
Bottas will start off strong with Russell behind. About 3 laps in Max will start to get frustrated about being behind Russell and try some stupid overtake, spins, causes damage and finished around 5th or 6th. Around lap 10, Bottas will drive past the spot of the aforementioned contact and somehow find the only piece of carbon from it and get a puncture. On his ensuing pit stop, there will be some problem and he will come out in 10th. Russell at this point, leading the race, will come up on a back marker, and being overzealous and not used to backmarkers, will do something stupid resulting in a spin/off/damage, dropping him down the order. Leclerc, driving a safe race, thinks he's got it in the bag, until a car with power, probably Perez, passes him with 5 laps left for the win. Perez 1st, Riccardo 2nd, Leclerc 3rd.

If you swap the names around a bit, I pretty much nailed this.

 

[JoVel]

You know, Ferrari's failure of a year might've meant that we've gotten pretty stale at the front but it has also meant that the midfield fight has been even crazier than before. We've now had 13 different drivers on the podium. That would've been crazy to think of just last year. Kvyat at 14th is the highest guy in the standings without a podium.

 

[Paris in Flames]

3 place grid drop for Leclerc next week.

Seems a bit harsh and goes against their "more lenient on the first lap" policy but maybe it's like...a penalty given for multiple incidents in one.

 

[Transplanted Caper]

You know, Ferrari's failure of a year might've meant that we've gotten pretty stale at the front but it has also meant that the midfield fight has been even crazier than before. We've now had 13 different drivers on the podium. That would've been crazy to think of just last year. Kvyat at 14th is the highest guy in the standings without a podium.

Ferrari tanking has been the best thing to happen to F1 in years. Not that much fun to root your favourite mid-fielder onto a 7th place finish year after year. Lewis dominating isn't new, but genuinely seeing McLaren, Renault, and RP fight for podiums all year, and Alpha Tauri being in the mix for regular Top 10s has been great. Feel for Haas and Alfa who can't do anything with that power unit, but it's been a worthwhile payoff for the entertainment in the Top 10.

 

[Canadienna]

Quite the contrary; Mercedes was stupid for letting Russell race Bottas, when he was guaranteed to get disqualified after the race for driving with Bottas' tyres..

Guaranteed? Everyone was saying at the time that he should be okay and won't get a penalty as he was called right back in.

I was fired up when I last commented. I'm more calm now but it's still a total screw job by the team. Not intentional but bad time for a lack of focus/critical thinking.

 

[Khelandros]

 

[JoVel]

Going back to lap 1, did Max not know there was gravel? Certainly looked like it with how fast he tried to go. He probably should've known though considering he has crashed there before. Can't really blame him though, just thought that was funny. If Max took it slower he probably gets hit by Checo or Charles so there's like a 5% chance he was escaping that one.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Guaranteed? Everyone was saying at the time that he should be okay and won't get a penalty as he was called right back in.

I was fired up when I last commented. I'm more calm now but it's still a total screw job by the team. Not intentional but bad time for a lack of focus/critical thinking.

In a race situation, running the wrong set has resulted in a DSQ in the past. This is yet another case of F1 stewards going "all teams are equal, but some are more equal than others". I'm fine with the decision, as long as they keep the same line going forward.

Sure, there was mitigating factors to consider in (Russell stopping again after one lap, Mercedes as a team getting screwed because Bottas suffered too, and Russell's puncture towards the end), but idk if I would've opened this can of worms. Next time this happens, the team affected is going to cite case Russell and say it was confusion/honest mistake. The question is, do the same rules apply then, or does that driver get DSQ'd? You never know with F1 stewards.

Going back to lap 1, did Max not know there was gravel? Certainly looked like it with how fast he tried to go. He probably should've known though considering he has crashed there before. Can't really blame him though, just thought that was funny. If Max took it slower he probably gets hit by Checo or Charles so there's like a 5% chance he was escaping that one.

Have to think the gravel probably looks more similar to tarmac with artificial lights on.

 

[Paris in Flames]

Going back to lap 1, did Max not know there was gravel? Certainly looked like it with how fast he tried to go. He probably should've known though considering he has crashed there before. Can't really blame him though, just thought that was funny. If Max took it slower he probably gets hit by Checo or Charles so there's like a 5% chance he was escaping that one.

He probably knew. Just forgot in the moment. He likely looked a bit to his right and saw Perez's back coming towards him so he gunned it to avoid contact there and at night and heat of the moment he forgot or didn't see the gravel.

My guess. Anyway.

He DID violently kick the wall almost as soon as he got out of the car. Probably frustration with himself for not realizing it was gravel at the time.

 

[Eisenh0rn]

In a race situation, running the wrong set has resulted in a DSQ in the past. This is yet another case of F1 stewards going "all teams are equal, but some are more equal than others". I'm fine with the decision, as long as they keep the same line going forward.

Sure, there was mitigating factors to consider in (Russell stopping again after one lap, Mercedes as a team getting screwed because Bottas suffered too, and Russell's puncture towards the end), but idk if I would've opened this can of worms. Next time this happens, the team affected is going to cite case Russell and say it was confusion/honest mistake. The question is, do the same rules apply then, or does that driver get DSQ'd? You never know with F1 stewards.

Have to think the gravel probably looks more similar to tarmac with artificial lights on.

The official FIA statement mentioned it having not happened before and that the current rules were vague in terms of how to exact punishment. They basically had to fill in the gaps and create a precedent and called for a rule change so that if it happens in the future acting quickly to rectify issue within 1-3 laps result is a limited penalty but if you finish the race that way it's DSQ.

 

[Siamese Dream]

W Series calendar confirmed

W Series at British Grand Prix weekend

 

[Khelandros]

Hmmmmm....

Hmmmmmm.....

 

[Paris in Flames]

Bottas also apparently posted this today (according to Reddit).

I feel he's just trolling now.

And realistically why would Mercedes make the move now? They have no challenger for Constructors...buying out Bottas and Russell's deal will just cost them a boatload with no real payoff.

 

[Khelandros]

Might not be a buyout. Could just be a straight swap with Mercedes picking up the difference. Bottas being a #1 on Williams would probably help them a ton more than having Russell and Latifi trying to develop a car.

 

[Paris in Flames]

Might not be a buyout. Could just be a straight swap with Mercedes picking up the difference. Bottas being a #1 on Williams would probably help them a ton more than having Russell and Latifi trying to develop a car.

Fair. But they're still paying a cost for something that doesn't really gain them much. They'd win the Constructors with just Lewis running at this point.

Suppose you could argue the earlier experience is huge for Russell but how much is that actually worth?

 

[Khelandros]

Well, if Toto does end up leaving, having his client driving for the team still leaves him in a position to have influence.