The F1 thread

Fretwired

simonk said:

Don't think Helmut Marko is a particularly nice guy TBH.

He's not paid to be ... racing's a tough sport. Had McLaren had him they wouldn't have been languishing on the fringes for so long.

stickyfiddle

Fretwired said:

simonk said:

Don't think Helmut Marko is a particularly nice guy TBH.

He's not paid to be ... racing's a tough sport. Had McLaren had him they wouldn't have been languishing on the fringes for so long.

Yup. As much as I thought Vergne (in particular) got screwed, binning him (as well as Buemi and Alguersuari) is what got Ricciardo and Verstappen into the senior team, which is arguably the strong driving pairing on the grid.

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

Fretwired said:

simonk said:

Don't think Helmut Marko is a particularly nice guy TBH.

He's not paid to be ... racing's a tough sport. Had McLaren had him they wouldn't have been languishing on the fringes for so long.

Yup. As much as I thought Vergne (in particular) got screwed, binning him (as well as Buemi and Alguersuari) is what got Ricciardo and Verstappen into the senior team, which is arguably the strong driving pairing on the grid.

Yep, can't argue with that.

chillidoggy

Could be a wet qualifying, but dry race.

lewism

Rain at any point would make things interesting as it will even things up between Merc, Ferrari and Red Bull, as well as flattering the McLaren. Mercedes still seem a little iffy, has Hamilton started talking about damage limitation yet? Big question for me, following the last two races, is who will Vettel crash with and when? My guess is Massa, on the way back to the airport. He's been a bit ragged when he's been pushed this season and is making a few too many errors of judgement.

Boromedic

Yeah could mix things up if quali is wet, Lewis looked reasonable in dry P1 and his usual assured self in the wet. Vettel was quicker but Mercedes would be running low power as usual.... Tough to call, P3 should give some answers hopefully but I think all things being equal, Hamilton will be on pole with Vettel behind in second..... Red Bulls then Bottas...

Fretwired

lewism said:

Rain at any point would make things interesting as it will even things up between Merc, Ferrari and Red Bull, as well as flattering the McLaren. Mercedes still seem a little iffy, has Hamilton started talking about damage limitation yet? Big question for me, following the last two races, is who will Vettel crash with and when? My guess is Massa, on the way back to the airport. He's been a bit ragged when he's been pushed this season and is making a few too many errors of judgement.

Hamilton doesn't have to win every race. Vettel's on the back foot and at the moment when he's under pressure he makes mistakes. My money's on Hamilton doing well in Japan - it's a power circuit and I think the Mercs have the edge. There are three races which favour Ferrari and Red Bull. Hamilton has to ensure that he doesn't finish behind the Ferraris and Red Bulls at those races. It's a shame his team mate can't help him.

Fretwired

Boromedic said:

Yeah could mix things up if quali is wet, Lewis looked reasonable in dry P1 and his usual assured self in the wet. Vettel was quicker but Mercedes would be running low power as usual.... Tough to call, P3 should give some answers hopefully but I think all things being equal, Hamilton will be on pole with Vettel behind in second..... Red Bulls then Bottas...

Bottas has a grid penalty.

simonk

Pole lap was mighty!

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

Least surprising bit of news in 2017 - Palmer has finally been given the boot at Renault. Tomorrow will be his last race apparently.

Sainz will be in the Renault for the rest of the year, with Kvyat slotting back in at Toro Rosso. 

Another monster performance from LH again in quali - lets see if his race pace is any better than Malaysia! 

Fretwired

Another stupid series of grid penalties for Alonso .. he must be now starting in Korea ... :-)

simonk

Vettel and Max take each other and several more out at turn 1. Most of the rest slide off at Degner 2. Lewis, Alonso and Palmer on the podium.

chillidoggy

Jesus H Christ. No-one is going to touch those Mercs. I predict a boring race tomorrow, unless it rains.

Boromedic

What a pole lap!! I thought this race and the circuit of the Americas would suit Lewis/Merc to be fair. Then Mexico and Brazil to suit Ferrari. If he can take 50 at the next 2 and Vettel takes 36 then Lewis is nearly 2 Dnfs ahead so its game over. Abu Dhabi suits the Merc more, having cycled it a million times.....

Nitefly

What is the point of grid penalties?  35 places, when there are only 20 cars on the grid... just stupid.

stickyfiddle

Good first lap! Though not ideal for the championship battle.

I'm loving Ocon this year. Though whoever at FI agreed to having both drivers having pink helmets needs taking out and shooting.

Boromedic

I think Ferrari's attempts to extract more performance out of the power unit have led to running it in an increasingly marginal state, subsequently their reliability has dropped off. Coupled with some bad luck for Vettel finally I think it's game over.....

stickyfiddle

Boromedic said:

I think Ferrari's attempts to extract more performance out of the power unit have led to running it in an increasingly marginal state, subsequently their reliability has dropped off. Coupled with some bad luck for Vettel finally I think it's game over.....

Yeah, that's quite possible. 

Fretwired

Max was mighty ... shame RB has the Renault engine.

boogieman

I actually feel sorry for Vettel this time round. I would much rather see a fair fight on the track.