Jamesrob637
Established Member
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- 12 Aug 2016
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Oh well the race is literally hours before the lifting date. I don't think the virus will magically disappear overnight.
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Formula 1
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DarloRich
Veteran Member
Will be intresting to see if the Mercedes can get tyre warm quickly enough to challenge from the off. They seem to be really struggling to get temperatures up and the weather today is quite chilly and may even be damp.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
they are great tyres even if they are made out of soft cheese. No one has a clue what's happening. No one knows when to stop. Superb.
I'd much rather the tyres these days were just durable at any pace the the drivers could just race instead of relying on undercuts and overcuts. Maybe i'm old fashioned.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
if we don't have a joker it becomes processional. Unless FIA can make it possible for proper wheel to wheel racing then we need some help. I would love it to be like superbikes but the cars just cant run closely enough often enough for long enough!
Verstappen will win this I expect - a copy of the Bahrain race but the other way round.
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Lampshade
Established Member
A good race at Paul Ricard - and yes, I’ve just heard, it’s snowing in hell.
Indeed - a pleasantly surprising good race after 2018 & 19
Poor strategy from Merc, with Bottas once again getting the worst of it. I've said it before but I wouldn't blame Valtteri if he wanted out of the team at year's end, the way things are going for him
Poor strategy from Merc, with Bottas once again getting the worst of it. I've said it before but I wouldn't blame Valtteri if he wanted out of the team at year's end, the way things are going for him
DarloRich
Veteran Member
He shouldn't be complaining - He is a number 2. His job is to protect the number 1 and frankly imo not good enough to be where is he. I don't know what he expects.
75A
Established Member
How can you call that a good race?
The strategists @ Mercedes have proved yet again that they were extras on the Muppet Show, and as for the tyres what a contrived farce that is. Certainly doesn't encourage me to ever think about buying Pirelli's.
The strategists @ Mercedes have proved yet again that they were extras on the Muppet Show, and as for the tyres what a contrived farce that is. Certainly doesn't encourage me to ever think about buying Pirelli's.
Why? Were you planning on fitting racing tyres onto your own race car?
Trying to link FIA spec race tyres against normal road tyres is daft...I've run Pirelli's on my car for years without issues. Only changed to Goodyear recently as they were on offer.
bearhugger
Member
Martin Brundle once said, when he was commentating for terrestrial TV, that the tyres we use on normal road cars would only last a few corners at most on a F1 car.
75A
Established Member
I was talking about the general publics perception - rubbish in F1, rubbish on the road.
My car comes from the factory with Pirelli's but when coming to replace them, the highest review for Pirelli was 7th, with Michelin (2 different types), Hankook, Vredestein, Goodyear & Accelera.
Needless to say I went French.
My car comes from the factory with Pirelli's but when coming to replace them, the highest review for Pirelli was 7th, with Michelin (2 different types), Hankook, Vredestein, Goodyear & Accelera.
Needless to say I went French.
greatvoyager
Established Member
Looks to me like the relationship between Valtteri and the team has deteriorated, beyond repair.
LOL The Irony
On Moderation
You may be right there. The point of no return started when him and George collided at Imola. Despite the public blame being directed towards George, I think behind the scenes, a lot of it was "why was Bottas fighting a Williams for 10th?". I mean, that would be my first response to the crash.
We're increasingly seeing that if the W12 is not in it's sweetspot it's decidedly mediocre (BOT Imola, HAM Monaco, BOT Baku), but it felt there were already rumblings even before Imola. In no small part Bottas bringing his most-"I can win the championship" mindset, only to then basically realise he'd be sacrificed on the altar of Hamilton's title hopes from the off
LOL The Irony
On Moderation
Yeah, it does look like the Bottas Mercedes relationship is in its waning stages, especially with Toto undeservedly throwing him under the bus for Monaco. George humbling him at Sakhir and then clashing with him at Imola appear to have written his death certificate. Bottas never ranted at the team before and has always been subservient, so it appears he's accepted his fate and has mentally checked out, doing his upmost to hinder Hamilton in the process and only focusing on himself. Surprising Toto would want to get rid of him when he gets something like 30% of his salary but needs must I guess.
I think the reason they want George is that they want a replacement for Hamilton to be comfortable with the car by the time he retires and they want at least A driver to have been a success in their driver program. Wherlein got situationed out of F1 and then went via DTM to not Mercedes in FE and Ocon has committed to Renault now, so George is currently their only hope.
greatvoyager
Established Member
Interestingly, Toto Wolff has praised Valtteri for his outburst.
I’m wondering if this was genuine encouragement, or is Toto going to use this as an excuse to not extend Valtteri’s stay beyond this year.
Toto Wolff on Valtteri Bottas: 'Finally he starts to criticise!' | PlanetF1
Toto Wolff said he's pleased that Valtteri Bottas finally voiced criticism of his team after he was not switched to a two-stopper in France.
www.planetf1.com
KashmireHawker
Member
The Russian Grand Prix, will be moving from Sochi to a circuit 30 miles outside of St Petersburg in 2023!
www.formula1.com
Russian Grand Prix to move from Sochi to Autodrom Igora Drive in St Petersburg in 2023 | Formula 1®
The Russian Grand Prix is moving home in 2023, after a deal was struck to move the race to a new purpose-built circuit named Autodrom Igora Drive, just outside St Petersburg.
www.formula1.com
Moving from a bland Hermann Tilke circuit to a potentially bland Hermann Tilke circuit. Sigh.
Looking at the satellite image, it does look like it could be interesting.
D365
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 29 Jun 2012
- Messages
- 11,450
Arghhhhhhhhh! Poor Russell!
LOL The Irony
On Moderation
That was a real blow for George and Williams, but at least he's proved that he has the stuff. If not in a Mercedes, he needs to be in a faster car next year.
Geezertronic
Established Member
Absolutely, and hopefully he is learning all the time having made important mistakes in other races whilst in points scoring positions in a Williams car that, as his two team-mates have shown, is still the second slowest on the grid. George still has not scored any points for the Williams team - Robert Kubica scored 1 point in the 2019 season (albeit fortuitous after finishing 12th and following penalties to two others who finished ahead)
Personally I do not think his performance in his Mercedes cameo was a fluke either, and he could keep Hamilton on his toes more than Bottas is at the moment given the chance
D365
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 29 Jun 2012
- Messages
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There seem to be a few ’fans’ who continue to regurgitate the classic ”it’s just the car” when it comes to discussion about Hamilton or Russell’s true level of performance. Verstappen said it best himself, recently. Although he was talking about Hamilton specifically, the gist of it was ”You pay the driver to make the difference”.
Hamilton and Russell are both outstanding talents, Bottas is no slouch either but the consistency is sadly lacking.
Going back to Sakhir 2020 specifically. Verstappen won his first race in a Red Bull and nobody questioned it. It would have been exactly the same had Russell won his. Spain 2016 and Sakhir 2020 were ”breakout” races for both drivers.
Apologies for the ramble, just my 4 cents on the Russell debate!
greatvoyager
Established Member
I absolutely agree, although some of Bottas’ inconsistency is down to bad luck, like Monaco for Example.
birchesgreen
Established Member
Bottas is a very good driver, he just has the misfortune of being compared directly against one of the all-time greats.
greatvoyager
Established Member
Couldn’t have put it better myself. I think a move for Bottas might be best, for his own career, otherwise I think his motivation will completely disappear.
The only problem is that any move is (presumably) going to be a downgrade on the mercedes seat. I think either he stays in the merc seat (and once more gets soundly beaten by Lewis) or leaves F1