I thought it was a really good race. Hamilton’s drive was a masterclass. As soon as the threat of rain became real you just know he becomes a step above the rest.
I’ve no doubt that Vettel knew exactly how fast Hamilton was closing on him and that’s why he continued pushing and from that comes the error.
Laps 44-50 Hamilton was taking about 2 seconds every lap out of that lead. I suspect he’d have been right up with Vettel before the end of the race.
No doubt Hamilton drove a great race. But as far as exciting action at the end, we had only a brief show before Mercedes shut it down.
Really? The ‘Shei’ that got through before it was censored certainly sounded German to me.
That sucked.
I think that single sniff was all that Bottas was going to get anyway. Once Hamilton’s tyres were back up to temp I don’t think he was going to take him.
I’m not a fan of team orders but in this case with a slippery track and a 1-2 they never expected, whoever was in front it was probably the right thing to get them to hold station.
Possibly, but just before that we had a fairly lightly censored “Fuck’s sake. Fuck’s sake.”. Or at least, I’m almost certain of it. My knowledge of German vernacular is limited so it’s possible I’m wrong, of course.
Unless it was Bottas. :rolleyes:
I don’t think so. Team orders have favoured Bottas before and Hamilton has complied. Mercedes only very, very rarely inflict them on their drivers. If Bottas had been faster (he wasn’t) they’d have let him go to protect the win.
There was absolutely nothing to gain by letting them battle for 6 or 7 laps on a drying track with threat of further rain, the risks were too high.
Oh, I agree, but if Val were leading after that safety car, I’d bet the team would make him give Hamilton the position. He’s clearly the #2, and at this point in the season, Cry-baby Lewis needs the points.
Actually, after Vettel’s crash Hamilton would have regained the #1 spot even if he had come second. And it was only after Bottas had tried to pass Hamilton and failed that team orders were issued.
No. I really don’t think they would. I don’t think Lewis has ever been in a no.1 driver position that is remotely similar to what Vettel had (has) or Schumacher.
Just last year there was a situation inHungary where Bottas let Lewis through to have a stab at the Ferraris to see if he could pass where Bottas couldn’t. Hamilton couldn’t either and he gave the place back to Bottas. His championship position then was even worse than it would have been by finishing second last week. Note that in the same race Vettel was slower than Raikkonen and was holding him up but Raikkonen was not allowed to pass him.
I understand where you’re coming from, when I started following F1 30 odd years ago, I too had my favourite driver who was a step above the rest at every race, in my mind. No doubt Hamilton is one of the best drivers and he did drive very well in this race but nothing exceptional.
In reality his advantage came from several factors: He was low on the starting grid so could choose any strategy and of course he (with the team) chose softs-ultra softs, and he (with the team again) changed to ultra softs at just the right time just before the rain started. All the other front runners were forced into the opposite stratgey (per the regulations) and were stuck on used softs. The sticky ultra softs would have given him much better traction in the wet parts, so he simply kept out of trouble and gained 2 seconds a lap just per better equipment, no “masterclass” drive needed. I’d chalk his win up to decent drive, good stratgey calls by Merc team, a bit of luck in timing, and Vettel’s mistake.
RIP Marchionne, did I miss something or did that happen very quickly?
Starting 14th is an advantage?
Haha 11th is even better but yes, with the free choice of starting tires and two step difference between quali and option tires (in Hockenheim), it can be. It helps that the midfield drivers don’t bother to defend against the top 3 teams. Welcome to modern F1.
Yeah, the whole “qualified way back in the pack” hype is something the announcers try to play up to full advantage.
The Reality is, if Lewis or Seb are mired down in the pack, that just means (usually) they’ll finish second or third.
When Lewis qualified 14th, I though to myself, “Well, then he’ll finish third, maybe second if he gets Kimi and Bottas is told to let him through”.
Well, Seb fucked up and he won. No big surprise. Not to me, at least. Starting 14th is really only a few seconds behind. And with the 3 DRS areas, overtaking is no big deal for the Mercedes. Just whip around, picking off a couple guys a lap. And, yeah, all those also-rans basically let Lewis by.
Yes, Modern F1. Still better than Indy Car. 
You say that, but that was the best “low grid to win” for a decade
Novelty Bobble, to be fair, here’s something that’ll make you happy:
[SPOILER]Today’s quali was a much better demonstration of how good Hamilton is in the wet, and confirmation that he’s one of the best if not the best qualifier of this era. Vettel on the other hand, eeh, has he ever done well in the wet?
That was the most exciting quali I remember in a long time, non-stop action from start to finish, and kudos to Charlie and the gang for not red-flagging Q3 and letting them race. Red Bull: complete implosion, lol.
[/SPOILER]
Confirmation from Thursday’s press conference:
F1 is still one of the most immersive sports out there, it’s not just the race weekend, there’s the development race between weekends, the rich and famous lifestyle, and the ongoing soap operas, teams poaching engineers and directors, others always in financial trouble, something new every day, love it.
Jeez, that “race” was a snoozefest!
Well… that was unexpected and interesting…
Ricciardo going to Renault next year (taking Sainz place if there was any confusion).
Now who does Red Bull get? The good money is on Gasly. But Sainz (obviously) and Ocon can probably be picked up as well.
Reading the buzz, seems like Sainz’s deal with McClaren is all but done, Gasly to RB is the likely choice but I would love love love to see Alonso and Verstappen on the same team. I know it won’t happen because Honda but I still dream.
Ocon to Mercedes when they get sick of Bottas.