Formula One
- Thread starter Charlie Marlow
- Start date
Mercedes will win the Constructors title with Vettel winning the Drivers championship. Raikkonen is too inconsistent/unlucky this year to be able to match the points Bottas will accumulate in addition to Hamilton.
And no, I don't think Vettel should be punished further. I don't think the incident is as serious as some are making it out to be. Did he screw up? Yes. Should he have owned up to it on the radio when informed of the 10-second stop and go penalty rather than act oblivious by asking "what dangerous driving?" Yes. But to me, it was clear that he thought Hamilton was going to get on the gas out of the corner and when he didn't, it caught Vettel off guard and he bumped into him. There were numerous other incidents that race in which other drivers acted more dangerously, and while this one happened under a safety car - technically - it wasn't blatant and in the end could have cost Vettel much more than it did considering how fragile those front wings can be.
I just want a close drive for the championship at this point. It's been so one sided for years that it's really nice to see an actual fight for the drivers championship again. Ideally what I would like is for the Haas Team to start being competitive since they are the only US based team, but I also know how F1 is and chances of them ever being anywhere near the top is basically zero. Hoping they can at least just settle for "best of the rest" eventually.
To answer the question about Vettel I think he should have been DQ'd from the race but they gave him what they gave him, like it or not. At this point it's over and done with and they should move on.
And regarding the Danica Patrick post...just no, lol.
Let's go with Carmen Jorda, at least she had her shot in F1.
To answer the question about Vettel I think he should have been DQ'd from the race but they gave him what they gave him, like it or not. At this point it's over and done with and they should move on.
And regarding the Danica Patrick post...just no, lol.
Let's go with Carmen Jorda, at least she had her shot in F1.
Carmen is a handsome woman, and if either her or Danica showed any guy here some attention in a crowded bar, said guy's wife would wonder what got into him later that night.
Mercedes/ Hamilton. For S Vettel to deliberately ram an opponent during a race definitely should've been automatically disqualified for the remaining of the race. Then he played dumb like he didn't do anything wrong. I like Vettel but I wish he would've owned up to what he did. Can't wait until the next race next Sunday.
I don't think it was deliberate. He thought Lewis was going to pull away out of the corner and wanted to stay neck and neck with him especially considering the unique track layout and restart procedures in Azerbaijan. Lewis didn't do so - which as the leader is his right to dictate the pace on a restart - and the bump happened. Had the Mercedes crew not been idiots during the red flag and made sure Hamilton's headrest was properly secured when the race resumed the penalty would have carried much more weight than it ended up doing. But I agree that Vettel shouldn't have acted like a child after the fact by acting oblivious to what he did.
I agree with you guys in that I'm just glad we have a competitive championship between multiple teams, something we haven't had since 2012. Some of the circuits coming up though seem to be favorable for the Mercedes engine and Hamilton in general - Hungary in particular seems to be a track LH thrives at - but if Ferrari can keep it close throughout the European portion of the schedule then it should go down to the wire as the later portion of the schedule has races that suit Vettel and Ferrari well. Unless Kimi can pop in with a win or two though, I find it hard for Ferrari to win the Constructors championship, so it will be on Vettel to salvage something by winning the Drivers championship. The wild card will be if Red Bull can become a true challenge at the front. They show bits and pieces and are the next ones in line to step up should Merc and Ferrari have off-days, but that Renault/Tag Heuer power unit is still holding them back. If that power deficit can be reduced as the season progresses, they have the chance to play spoiler. Wouldn't that be something, a Red Bull win in Abu Dhabi to deny their former star (Vettel) of his first world championship with Ferrari? Here's to a fight to the finish - we still have 12 races to go! - and to you guys. I thought I was the only F1 fan besides my uncle in Nebraska.
Not sure if you guys check out this website ever, but pop on in to espn.co.uk/f1. Solid website and a good community of F1 fans from around the globe. I hope to see you guys there.
My statement about Vettel was when he pulled along beside Hamilton and deliberately swerved into Lewis after he had bumped Hamilton in the back. Did you not see Vettel hit Hamilton twice? First time it was an accident, but the second hit was deliberate.
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Truth be told I hadn't noticed the second collision. That was a bit of nonsense having just watched the clip. I take back what I said regarding the matter.
Avid fan and follower of F1 here. Great sport and boy does the advent of DVRs make recording at all hours easy to view.
I do see that Mercedes will win the constructors trophy this year (and the $$$$$). It is great to see more constructors in the game. Worth noting is that the driver competition has been fierce the last three years even if it was within the same team. This year's driver competition is going to be fun to see and right now it looks like 50/50 between Vettel and Hamilton. If Hamilton doesn't make a mistake (something he is prone to on occasion) I would lean to him winning. Often it comes down to a bit of luck between top drivers... like not having your collar secured properly; getting caught in traffic; mechanical failures; tangled up in a wreck.
GBR
Scott
I do see that Mercedes will win the constructors trophy this year (and the $$$$$). It is great to see more constructors in the game. Worth noting is that the driver competition has been fierce the last three years even if it was within the same team. This year's driver competition is going to be fun to see and right now it looks like 50/50 between Vettel and Hamilton. If Hamilton doesn't make a mistake (something he is prone to on occasion) I would lean to him winning. Often it comes down to a bit of luck between top drivers... like not having your collar secured properly; getting caught in traffic; mechanical failures; tangled up in a wreck.
GBR
Scott
It will be interesting to see if Bottas can somehow get in the fight as well. A great recovery drive by him in Baku cut his deficit to Vettel to 42 points and he trails his teammate Hamilton by 28 points, both of which are very manageable considering there is still about 2/3 of the season to run. He's driven well this year given the pressure of taking over for Rosberg and should this continue he has earned himself a contract extension with the Silver Arrows.
Bottas is doing well, but no way does he compete with Lewis this year. Give him another couple of years and we will see.
I love Kimi, but he's been consistently inconsistent since his return. I wonder if this is his last year.
Vettel received no further punishment. I do think Lewis will beat him out for the championship though. Mercedes has looked like the better car the last two races and has some momentum going if they don't screw themselves up.
I think Perez and Ocon will be very interesting to watch the next few races.
Haas has done as well as you could expect for a new team.
Compare this to McLaren, which still has a dog$hit car in year 3 with Honda. I think Fernando is still the best driver, but he needs a new team. The question is where though? Can't really see him teaming up with Lewis or Seb in the future.
Think Ricciardo is having a marvelous season so far.
I love Kimi, but he's been consistently inconsistent since his return. I wonder if this is his last year.
Vettel received no further punishment. I do think Lewis will beat him out for the championship though. Mercedes has looked like the better car the last two races and has some momentum going if they don't screw themselves up.
I think Perez and Ocon will be very interesting to watch the next few races.
Haas has done as well as you could expect for a new team.
Compare this to McLaren, which still has a dog$hit car in year 3 with Honda. I think Fernando is still the best driver, but he needs a new team. The question is where though? Can't really see him teaming up with Lewis or Seb in the future.
Think Ricciardo is having a marvelous season so far.
I saw that Aston Martin, Cosworth and VW sat in on the recent engine specification discussions - targeting 2021 for the new rules to be in effect. Also some talk of loosening the rules for new engine manufactures to ensure we don't get a repeat of the Honda debacle (although Honda is creating alot of the problem with lack of funding - less than half the $$ compared to Renault, Mercedes and Ferrari annual spending - and insisting to put mostly new engineers on the program as an opportunity for training/learning - that worked in the past - it does not work now).
Be pretty cool to see more engine types on the grid - be good to find rules that allow that to happen.
Be pretty cool to see more engine types on the grid - be good to find rules that allow that to happen.
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