No there isn't and no it's not.Originally Posted by Andyg
I think that the above rant, concluded by Andy thinking that the next Grand Prix is Belgium, demonstrates his rather tenuous grasp of reality.
I don't know what he'll do when Hamilton finally flounces off to become a full-time Instagram/Snapchat legend or backing vocalist.
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But isn't Hockenheim in Belgium?......................................and Spa in Texas
Oh bugger, so much to the chap on the BBC who said it was Austria, UK and Belgium.
But never mind. Keep calm and carry on doing what you do best.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Any chance we could keep the Hamilton/Ferrari amateur psychology to a minimum?
I have plenty of interest in discussion over real matters, but people using it as a springboard for their own agenda of ranting is dull as... Yes, some like Hamilton and some don’t.
I thought it was an excellent race; it’ll be a keen fight between Vettel & Hamilton.
Agreed. I’m disappointed with the resurgence of petty bickering which is starting to spoil this thread. Personal insults are completely inappropriate.
Last edited by JeremyO; 11th July 2018 at 15:41.
After a finance-enforced sabbatical in 2017, the German Grand Prix returns this weekend.
And it returns at Hockenheim which, these days, is a pale Health and Safety influenced shadow of the fearsome flat-out blast through the forest, interrupted by some slow chicanes, to keep the drivers' attention.
Tyre choices:
Circuit, showing three DRS zones, as has become the norm wherever possible:
An interesting article in Motor Sport from Mark Hughes, who has been crunching the numbers from Silverstone and done some comparisons between the latest incarnations of the Mercedes and Ferrari, with tyre degredation and fuel load compensations:
https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/o...378YTL,18U81,1
Can Ferrari spoil the party at Mercedes' home race?
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Hamilton, as expected, has announced an extension to his Mercedes deal for two years - https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/news/f1/hamilton-extends-mercedes-f1-
Mo Nunn has died.
A familiar name to followers of the sport in the 1970's, his Ensign team had its fair share of misfortune, his car designs could be described as "distinctive", he was one of the pillars of the sport in the years before it became more of a business:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ensign_Racing
Mo later moved to the USA, achieving success as a team owner in top-level CART/Indycar series:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Nunn
RIP, Mo.
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Valtteri Bottas gets another year at Mercedes, with an option for 2020, so the seats at the top of the food chain are slowly being confirmed.
There is still speculation around whether Kimi Raikkonen or Charles Leclerc will occupy the second Ferrari, and it's worth noting that Antonio Giovinazzi is replacing Marcus Ericsson at Sauber for FP1 today. Giovanazzi is a Ferrari contracted driver, the implication being that either Leclerc will move to Maranello next year, or he will have a season at Haas as further preparation for a Ferrari drive, and in either case Giovinazzi will replace him at Sauber.
Technical updates: Ferrari are back-to-back testing new rear bodywork which requires a revised exhaust layout on Sebastian Vettel's car against the previous layout on Kimi Raikkonen's, while Force India and Renault both have new front wings with which you could shave. Meanwhile, Williams are doing lots and lots of aero runs.
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Further news following FP2 - Daniel Ricciardo will take a 20-place grid penalty for new power unit components, partly a tactical move to take a hit this weekend and avoid penalties at the Hungaroring next weekend, where the team fancy their chances of a win. Red Bull were fastest in each session today, despite losing out in Sector 2, where power trumps grip.
Ferrari changed the rear bodywork and exhaust layout on Vettel's car after FP1, reverting to the previous arrangement.
The stands at Hockenheim were very sparsely populated, a far cry from the days of Schumacher-Mania, despite the fact that this will be another home Grand Prix for Max Verstappen and the form of Mercedes. Given that the reason for the race's absence from the calendar last year, and the continuing financial woes of the Nurburgring is the ratcheting-up of hosting fees negotiated by Bernie Ecclestone (also the primary reason for Silverstone's inability to continue to host the British Grand Prix after the current contract expires), Liberty urgently need to step in and prevent the key European circuits from being priced out of existence, or at least prevented from hosting Grands Prix.
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It's raining at Hockenheim, and there's little or no on-track activity, because nobody wants to risk binning it just before Qualifying, as there's only an hour between the end of FP3 and the beginning of Q1.
Apparently Ferrari President Sergio Marchionne is ill, and there is a Board Meeting at Maranello to discuss his replacement, which sounds rather serious. Lewis Hamilton's health is also the cause of speculation, with stories of a leg injury doing the rounds.
Meanwhile, on track, Nico Hulkenberg has been untouchable, mostly because nobody else has done a timed lap.
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New boss at Ferrari, it’s going to be like the pope dieing
OK, so his car broke down. It happens, but why then why have a dig at the F1 public??
What did I miss? I love Hamilton but I hate it when he sulks or when you just know he can't be arsed being interviewed.
White smoke has been seen issuing from Maranello:
http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/24...ue-poor-health
Marchionne was pivotal to the negotiation of the new Concorde Agreement, so his chosen successor has a job to do.
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Because they had a dig at him, perhaps?
I presume it's this (link):
Hamilton blasts critics...
The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, confirmed “definitely it was not Lewis’s driving”. Hamilton’s desperation was evident as he leapt from his ailing car and started pushing. But it was not to be and he sunk to his knees as the enormity of the blow hit home. Marshals ushered his car away.
Hamilton took to Instagram to deliver a heartfelt riposte to the criticism he had received for supposedly causing the failure. “To those who take joy in seeing other people fail or suffer, I feel for you. Whatever is happening in your life to hold so much anger and hate, I pray that it passes and good things come to you,” he wrote, adding: “Nelson Mandela once said: We were not born with hate in our hearts, it’s something learnt over time. But if we can learn to hate then we can be taught to love for love is far easier and more natural to the human heart. God bless you. Now tomorrow, I can’t predict what’s going to come. Good or bad I will die before I give in.”
So, not "the F1 public" but 'F1 would be critics'?
Yeah I saw all his Instagram posts and wondered what the heck was said for him to post all that.
It was a pre-emptive strike. As all imperial powers claim ´in self defense´ of course.
Excellent
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Unbelievable. I was working but was glued to it on sky go lol. An certain amount of luck with Vettel crashing out but still from 14th to 1st is amazing. Well deserved.
[QUOTE=Andyg;4833004]
Merc must be euphoric to get a one tw at home
There is an old saying: "To finish first, first you have to finish"!
I think the other big looser was Verstapen. He was ahead of Hamilton for much of the race, but really lost out at the pit stops, the change to inters was a very bad mistake, he would easily have been on the podium, or could have even won the race.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/amp/form...mpression=true
May be a problem
Ze Germans
Anywhichway the rule application goes, he díd win and pointswise he will do well.
Since the Vettel loss was self inflicted I agree that Verstappen had the shortest straw in the tactics department.
Kimi got a 5 sec penalty for similar in 2016. If repeated this would demote Hamilton to second and reduce his points advantage over Vettel to 10 points.
Great race according to the radio, Hamilton at his best. Shame about Vettel but I think the pressure may have got to him today.
I have no problem with team orders from both Ferrari and Mercedes which were completely justified imo given the two main title contenders are so close. Kimi did make me laugh when he required Ferrari to spell out exactly what they required of him. Tbh it wouldn’t have surprised me if he had not concurred if rumours re him being replaced next year are true.
I will be watching the highlights on C4 shortly.
Update, stewards issue reprimand but no other penalty taking into account mitigating circumstances during a chaotic part of the race which means Hamilton keeps his win and 17 point advantage.
Last edited by JeremyO; 22nd July 2018 at 18:45.
Reprimand only apparently. Keeps the race win. Kimi’s penalty stems from something being written specifically about the pit entrance in Baku in the Race Directors notes.
The FIA.
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No beef with the result, but I smile at the outrage some member would show if Vettel had got away with the same...
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
An odd decision, and one which doesn't reflect the situation. Hamilton doesn't deserve a reprimand, there was little or nothing that he could have done, but there's no mechanism to issue the team with a reprimand.
Otherwise, Mercedes played a tactical blinder today, so it was a fair result. Should Verstappen/LeClerc/Alonso have been called in and put on to Intermediates? Had the rain worsened, it would have been an inspired move, but at the time the call was made the rain was limited to the hairpin, which was at the Northern end of the circuit, from where the wind was blowing. Only a small percentage of the circuit was damp, so it was a big gamble. Inters overheat rapidly on dry sections of track, so rolling the dice and hoping for more rain was a shot in the dark, as a second stop to go back on to slicks was inevitable.
Vettel's crash? The rears locked up, possibly due to overheated tyres or a gearbox/diff issue, and the Sachskurve has a gravel trap rather than one of the more fashionable "Get Out of Jail Free" tarmac run-off areas, because Hockenheim is "old school" and there isn't much money for track improvements. The whole place looks rather run-down these days, but I suppose the game has moved on and we're used to seeing freshly manicured, sparkly sanitised racing circuits now. Word is that this could be the last German Grand Prix for some time, because neither Hockenheim nor the Nurburgring can afford to host it. For one of the world's premier car-producing nations, this is a shame.
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Great result for the silver arrows. Lewis must still be expecting to wake up any minute :-)
The Mercedes tacticians who got it soooo wrong earlier in the season got their strategy spot on today. A good bit of luck there as well.
Not so sure Mercedes were spot on given the confusion re their last call for Hamilton to pit which he decided was the wrong call and aborted crossing the grass in order to stay out.The Mercedes tacticians who got it soooo wrong earlier in the season got their strategy spot on today. A good bit of luck there as well.
Oof, hell of a finish to the race. Interesting how much more energy Lewis had at the end of this race (unexpected win) to how little he said he had at the end of the Silverstone Grand Prix (unexpected loss).
Despite their win, I do think that Mercedes really need to sort their strategists out though. It was fortune more than good calls that got them the win today.
Having said all that, I very much enjoyed this race.
I wasn't so sure it was Hamilton that decided they were wrong. They obviously made a total balls up of Bottas pitting when the correct tyres weren't ready. It looked like the strategists were calling Hamilton in before they realised the mess the whole pit team were still in and then panicked to tell him to stay out rather than pit when they clearly wouldn't be ready. I think Hamilton did well under the circumstances and the team let him down again.
I didn't have a chance to watch quali so waited until C4's race highlights to find out how they all lined up, I had already picked up that Ricciardo had multiple grid penalties however Hamilton's start position was an eye-opener, especially so as Vettel had claimed pole.
With so many plot twists and turns already this season we shouldn't be so surprised to witness another, it continues to be a championship that keeps on giving even with a few dud races along the way. Remember Albert Park? Hamilton topped the free practice sessions and then simply blew everyone into the weeds with an immaculate drive in Q3, after which there were many that predicted the DC already done and dusted. Sunday came, the team screwed up Hamilton's pit-stop strategy, and it wasn't until the 4th race of the season in Azerbaijan that the Brit claimed his first race of 2018 - his closest championship rival had already won two. As it currently stands SV and LH have four races apiece (RB have the other three) and you can bet your bottom $ that both teams will do their upmost to get their respective top drivers to the DC, the CC is also looking rather tasty.
"Tasty" is not a word you'd use to describe Williams' situation, though. Not only did they have two DNFs in Germany they also suffered the fate of both Torro Rosso and Sauber finishing in the top 10 thus increasing the gap between themselves and the Grove based outfit. Bottas said "thank you" to Mercedes by being fully complaint with instruction to maintain position, and Raikkonen rather comically asked for absolute clarification as to what was being asked of him - fair play to the Finn for asking his team to just say it how it is.
Getting back to the DC and it's starting to become apparent just how much it means to both LH and SV to claim their next title, they each have 4 DC titles and 4 race wins this season and the emotional highs and lows of the championship battle are evident. They both know exactly how important each and every race result is, that every point is sacred, and that mistakes shall be punished. As the season continues it's easy to consider errors toward the end of the year as being those that decide both championships, the reality is of course that every incident, accident, power unit failure and pit call counts, just like the one in Australia.
Last edited by CardShark; 23rd July 2018 at 00:54.
Terrible calls by Red Bull really screwed Max with that inters change. Interesting race in midfield.
I see the "Honda isn't bad narrative" well and truly ended this weekend - the STRs were terrible but managed to pull out a result for Hartley due to the chaos. Haas continue their impressive run of results shading the FIs, although they did get both drivers in the Top 10. Sainz had a weird race - looked strong in parts and then totally fell away whereas Hulk showed his, I think often overlooked, class
And so then to Williams. What is going on? Arguably the best engine out there and the car is a disaster. Now clearly the drivers aren't top notch but they;re not totally useless either - Stroll has shown signs of pace and race craft. Medium term looks bleak without some outside investment :(
I dont think that rule is really there for this situation it's to keep them off the track at the beginning of the pit lane
entry where it is just a line on the track so can see why the stewards were lenient.
Rob Smedley claimed that the changes they made for the German GP had improved the car, though scant signs of that. If it's improved they still have a long way to go.
I agree they need investment, especially as they are loosing the Martini sponsorship at the end of the season, and the rumour is that they will loose the millions being paid for Lance Stroll's drive. Unless they have other big deals lined up they will be very short of money next year. But who will invest? Force India have been much more successful over the last couple of years and no one has invested or bought that team, so what hope is there for Williams?
Sad to see this once great team in such a dire situation.
Rumour has it that the Stroll millions might be on their way to Force India, who continue to impress, even without the resources of the likes of Williams, who have a considerable infrastructure and in-house manufacturing, fabrication and wind tunnel facilities, while Force India have to outsource much of their fabrication work, and use the Toyota wind tunnel in Cologne.
On the subject of wind tunnels, it seems that there is a particular problem at the moment with several teams having problems with correlation, which is when the tunnel gives results which don't correspond with those seen on track, and an issue was highlighted at the weekend, when it was reported that in some cases the teams' own wind tunnels aren't wide enough, and the downforce readings are being interfered with by air flow being bounced back from the tunnel walls, due to the current front wings forcing the air outwards around the outsides of the front wheels.
I'm not sure, and perhaps somebody can enlighten me, but I didn't think that full-scale wind tunnel testing was allowed, and wind tunnel models were allowed to be a maximum of 60% of the size of the car. Whatever, and even if this is the case, it seems that wind tunnels will need to either become wider, or have moving walls as well as floors.
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Hungary this weekend, back-to-back with Germany, and for the F1 travelling circus the forthcoming summer break can't come soon enough. If nothing else, it will give the welcome opportunity to make a few deals, and sort out the driver-go-round without the unwelcome distraction of actually having to go racing.
The balance of gossip and speculation seems to shift almost daily, and currently the focus is on Force India:
https://www.pitpass.com/62481/Force-...-driver-market
The fortunes of the team also dictate where the force of gravity in the driver market acts, with Esteban Ocon seemingly in the spotlight at Renault, at the expense of Carlos Sainz, who may end up with the excrement-covered end of the stick which is a drive at McLaren, as Daniel Ricciardo appears to want to stay at Red Bull, and Sainz isn't keen on returning to Toro Rosso - Brendon Hartley seems to be lined up to have the opportunity to spend more time with his family next season. Toro Rosso, with the benefit of Red Bull backing and a year's experience with the Honda power unit, or McLaren, with the experience of being a complete shambles for the last four years?
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Sad news about Sergio Marchionne.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ler-dead-at-66
Looking forward to Hungary, local weather is showing likely rain apparently which could mix things up nicely.
In other news Sergio Marchionne has passed away from complications arising from his shoulder surgery to remove a tumour. Edit: beaten to it.
Much too young an age. Thoughts go out to his family and friends.
A tragic loss, not only to Ferrari.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/44961301
Is anyone looking into setting up an online "Technical Leadership Teams" fantasy league for next season yet?
Right, just in case anybody had forgotten what the Hungaroring looks like:
You will note that the FIA's obsession with shoehorning additional DRS zones into inappropriate places has resulted in Zone 2 appearing in a low-speed section where very few would ever contemplate trying to overtake anyway, and where DRS will make little or no difference.
The circuit was considered a bit "Mickey Mouse" and too tight for Formula 1 when it first joined the calendar, but since then we've been subjected to various identikit Tilkedromes, and it doesn't seem so bad after all.
Tyre choices:
We are now at a point where the Pirelli tyres are so good that most teams just max out on the softest compound available, and we still only have one-stop races.
It's all live on Sky, with highlights on C4.
In other news, Franz Tost has said that James Key has a valid, long-term contract with Toro Rosso, and will not be joining McLaren, Valtteri Bottas says that he's not just a support to Lewis Hamilton, Mauricio Arrivabene and Kimi Raikkonen have been excused official Press duties in the wake of Sergio Marchione's death, and Jacques Villeneuve says that Lewis Hamilton thinks that he's Jesus, and has confused Formula 1 with Hollywood.
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A further update with Power Unit element usage:
https://www.pitpass.com/62497/Hungar...-Unit-elements
Note that (from the left) drivers are allowed three of the first three elements (Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger and MGU-H) for the season, and two of the other elements, so when they reconvene for Spa after the break, which is well known as an engine breaker, even the likes of Valtteri Bottas could have grid penalties.
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Force India have gone into administration. You'd think there would be someone willing to pick them up given the way they punched about their weight for so long.
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