Formula 1 Talk

[johnnyskids]

Ferrari has made a habit of throwing races away with poor decisions. This was not one of those races. Brilliant race management from the outset and great gamesmanship by Carlos to use Lando as a rolling roadblock for the surging Mercedes.

I'm a big fan of LN; I'm thrilled to see him with another P2 finish. I'm not sure McLaren has the car to give him top spot.

I also think Mercedes made a mistake pitting Russell. He gave up P2 for a chance at P1, but ended up crashing out trying to regain that P2 spot from Lando who stayed out. Bird in the hand.

I honestly am not sure how much of that I can attribute to Ferrari team members and how much was Carlos. Seeing as they rarely do this with his teammate Charles in a race, I think it was a combination of Carlos understanding the challenge and trusting Lando more than his own teammate. I'd love to see the communication logs to see if it was race strategy that told Carlos to slow down and give Lando DRS or if it was Carlos doing it himself.

It's hard to predict exactly how it all would have played out, but Russell was in P2 with the same tires as Carlos and Lando and he was holding his own. But if you remember during the race, Russell requested they do the opposite of Ferrari and go for the win. But like you I think it would have likely been better if George stayed out and Lewis pitted with the new mediums. The issue then would be what would happen within the team if Lewis ended up passing George, how pissed would George have been. So I think they likely made the best of the situation based off the drivers, what they wanted, and the personalities.

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[johnnyskids]

Ferrari almost threw out win. - should have pitted to get medium tire during VSC at least for Charles and not saving a set of medium tires. In the end, it only worked out because Carlos helped Lando to block George & Lewis from over take Lando which was brilliant. Even if Lando was over taken after helping Lando, there weren't enough laps left in the race to overtake Carlos. The strategy they had was risky shown by how Charles could been over taken by a RB if it wasn't for last lap yellow flag. If he took off and left Lando to defend himself, George would've won and possibly, even Lewis had time to overtake him.

Ferrari did not have a fresh set of mediums to put on either Ferrari car, so had they pitted either, they would have likely been more compromised by the end of the race.

The McLaren car is fast and they have two very good drivers, but they are still a touch behind and have real issues passing the top teams using DRS. I'm hoping they can continue this upward trajectory and come back strong next season with better chances of race wins and moving up the team standings.

 

[Zoomie]

I honestly am not sure how much of that I can attribute to Ferrari team members and how much was Carlos.

I agree with you. Ferrari was managing the speed by giving Sainz the target delta throughout the race. It was Ferrari strategy to back up the field which discouraged the undercut - other teams would end up in traffic.
But I think using Lando as a surrogate teammate was a genius play by Carlos, not his strategists.

It's hard to predict exactly how it all would have played out, but Russell was in P2 with the same tires as Carlos and Lando and he was holding his own. But if you remember during the race, Russell requested they do the opposite of Ferrari and go for the win.

I had forgotten that comment from George. As it played out they would have been better leaving George in P2. But F1 drivers always want to push so it made sense in the moment.

 

[nibble]

Ferrari did not have a fresh set of mediums to put on either Ferrari car, so had they pitted either, they would have likely been more compromised by the end of the race.

That's exactly what I said. one of their mistake is, NOT saving a set of medium tires. They are not planning for the race to win. They are just going by what they need at the time not planning for entire weekend to win.

 

[gixxersixxerman]

Now it will be interesting to see the pace of the RB19 in Japan. I'm curious to see if Singapore was a one-off or if the new TD's affected the car.

I'd be willing to bet it's a one-off. I don't think the TD effected RB that much. I think the car just wasn't suited here. I would not be surprised if last few races of the year they actually have a harder time winning. Seemed that every year Mercs already had the 2 championships won they started focusing only on next year's car and RB seemed to keep upgrading that year's cars and the last couple races gave Merc a fight. They have done the same, very minor if any updates to this year's car for the rest of the year and all focused on next, while other teams still bringing updates, like McLaren and AT did this weekend. I am interested to see how the Mercs go at Brazil this year. Same with McLaren. Aston, idk what happened to them, seems to have just gone the wrong way in development.

 

[Dannyvandelft]

I'd be willing to bet it's a one-off. I don't think the TD effected RB that much. I think the car just wasn't suited here. I would not be surprised if last few races of the year they actually have a harder time winning. Seemed that every year Mercs already had the 2 championships won they started focusing only on next year's car and RB seemed to keep upgrading that year's cars and the last couple races gave Merc a fight. They have done the same, very minor if any updates to this year's car for the rest of the year and all focused on next, while other teams still bringing updates, like McLaren and AT did this weekend. I am interested to see how the Mercs go at Brazil this year. Same with McLaren. Aston, idk what happened to them, seems to have just gone the wrong way in development.

Yeah exactly. We'll see in a few days. Now that the streak is over, there's no pressure to keep developing this year's car to get the perfect season, so it might turn out to be a blessing.

 

[johnnyskids]

That's exactly what I said. one of their mistake is, NOT saving a set of medium tires. They are not planning for the race to win. They are just going by what they need at the time not planning for entire weekend to win.

You are mad because they didn’t match the only team that planned for that second set of mediums. No other team did it and let’s remember they got the win and most team points.

 

[nibble]

You are mad because they didn’t match the only team that planned for that second set of mediums. No other team did it and let’s remember they got the win and most team points.

Mad? I could be careless as long as people giving right information. matter of fact, this was best race in years to watch.

 

[Dannyvandelft]

Mad? I could be careless as long as people giving right information. matter of fact, this was best race in years to watch.

Hard no on that. The first 40+ laps were awful. There have been much better races to watch just this season. Zandvoort for example.

 

[Zoomie]

The race definitely had some slow spots, but the last 10 laps were the best bit of racing we've seen this season.

 

[johnnyskids]

The race definitely had some slow spots, but the last 10 laps were the best bit of racing we've seen this season.

Like most races, it wasn't jam packed with action the whole way through, but the first safety car, then RB pitting, followed by the second safety car picked up the racing and passing right after. I was great to see both Mercedes and RB using their tire advantage and off strategy to make up a huge amount of time and pass drivers along the way. Definitely haven't seen that for the podium positions this season.

 

[FLtrackdays]

I agree with you. Ferrari was managing the speed by giving Sainz the target delta throughout the race. It was Ferrari strategy to back up the field which discouraged the undercut - other teams would end up in traffic. But I think using Lando as a surrogate teammate was a genius play by Carlos, not his strategists.

Carlos admitted he knew Lando’s pace pretty well and as soon as Mercedes pitted, he and Lando were both thinking the same thing. He went on to say, had he not paced himself, that the Mercedes would have overtaken Lando and he’d be next. He spoke as if it would have been inevitable. So he said naturally he dropped back to give Lando the DRS advantage to fight off the Mercs. I loved it! Absolutely brilliant! He came across as it was survival, pure instinct. CarLando!! The synergy was beautiful. More respect for him now. Just in that interview alone.

Now had Hamilton been ahead of Russel, the outcome might have been different. His experience and skill is up there with Max. So in my humble opinion, I think him and Max can chew through packs of drivers much easier than George can. Was anyone else watching/thinking George is going to overdrive his car? Pull a Lance (I know, I know, he’s not that bad)? But the wife said it to me 1st. Max was starting to do his thang as the race went on. So was Lewis. You could feel they were in their element. Both of those guys are something to watch ? George will get there someday, perhaps. So love em or hate em, Max and Lewis are on another level. Norris is next imo. That kid is coming along incredibly. Calm, smooth, making adjustments when things go wrong, not wrecking ?

Can’t wait to see who will be next to move up in the ranks of elite/pinnacle drivers: Hamilton & Verstappen ?

 

[FuzzyRev]

Time for him to retire and hang out and be a track day instructor for amateur Tesla racers.

Stroll.... I swear I could do better. LOL

 

[RenRed2]

Just doing that takes all the skill he has LOL

 

[FuzzyRev]

Just doing that takes all the skill he has LOL

And the bastard can't even do that correctly. He is such a disgrace, seriously

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