Crown

Funny how the new Race Director will not hesitate to show the red flag if a car is stuck on track this year, as opposed to what happened last year.

I have no problem with Verstappen's pole lap. He did what the rule tells him to do. Just shows how big a gap he pulled on Leclerc before encountering Bottas' stranded car. 

It's probably time Sainz can resign to accepting he will be a supporting driver for Leclerc, at least for this year. 

Not a surprise Mercedes isn't close to being in the top 10. Their engine is down on power, their aero is a mess, neither making enough downforce to corner fast nor low drag enough to get to a higher top speed. They are in no man's land right now. FIA's regulations are working as intended, knocking the top dog down so others have a chance. 

Russell is showing why he is handed picked by Mercedes to be their man for their future. Given a competitive car, he will shine, up there with Leclerc, Verstappen and Norris. 

Grid all mixed up for Sprint, will be exciting to watch. 5 different teams for the top 5 and 7 different teams in the top 10. 

Zhou was faster than Bottas in Q1. Hes been doing great so far

Hopefully Mercedes are faster in race pace. 1.5s slower than top 2 teams in Q2...

It's really painful to watch how Marc is doing so far in this season! 

How is it possible that from one day (season) to another the best F1 team in history struggles so badly coming back to perform accordingly

Their car is just pure failure and I wonder if maybe there sidepod-design might be the main issue and in order to stick to their revolutionary design of the car they want to keep it. 

I remember when once Ferrari (as well sidepods) and Williams (hammerhead shark nose) tried something different and they've ruined their season with it.

Lord_Driftalot:

It's really painful to watch how Marc is doing so far in this season! 

How is it possible that from one day (season) to another the best F1 team in history struggles so badly coming back to perform accordingly

Their car is just pure failure and I wonder if maybe there sidepod-design might be the main issue and in order to stick to their revolutionary design of the car they want to keep it. 

I remember when once Ferrari (as well sidepods) and Williams (hammerhead shark nose) tried something different and they've ruined their season with it.

Haven’t you paid attention?  We’ve been told numerous times on RT that Mercedes’ woes are a direct result of the unfair  FIA punishing Mercedes with the least amount of aero time.

a

CGX car nut:

Lord_Driftalot:

It's really painful to watch how Marc is doing so far in this season! 

How is it possible that from one day (season) to another the best F1 team in history struggles so badly coming back to perform accordingly

Their car is just pure failure and I wonder if maybe there sidepod-design might be the main issue and in order to stick to their revolutionary design of the car they want to keep it. 

I remember when once Ferrari (as well sidepods) and Williams (hammerhead shark nose) tried something different and they've ruined their season with it.

Haven’t you paid attention?  We’ve been told numerous times on RT that Mercedes’ woes are a direct result of the unfair  FIA punishing Mercedes with the least amount of aero time.

 

a

 LOL. You just don't get it do you? Do you?

FIA isn't punishing Mercedes, there is no bias against Mercedes. They just happened to be the top dog as the regulations is for levelling the playing field by neutering the top dog for each season. Mercedes was top dog for the last few years hence why they lost the most. Actually got the chop 2 seasons in row when the regulations when into effect. All the teams signed off on the rule, Mercedes knew exactly what the effect of the rule will be well in advance. FIA didn't drop a bomb on them last minute, unlike the not in the regulation rule where selective wave through of lapped cars. 

Had it been Red Bull being the top dog last few years the results would be exactly the same, they will get the same amount of time chopped off.

With the limited amount of time testing new concepts, they just don't have time to finish up on their radical concept for the new car, maybe they picked right, or maybe they picked wrong. But their car isn't without potential, see Russell. 

It's so nice to see him performing extremely well even in a pig of a car. Talent wise, he is right up there with Verstappen and Leclerc and Norris. Been saying it for the longest time. Russell wrestle the dead last Williams into Q3 many times where that car shouldn't even be in Q2. 

Future of F1 is between Verstappen, Leclerc, Norris and Russell. And it has arrived.

Hamilton is part of the old guard, he is the greatest of all time but time doesn't stand still, his expiration date is coming, just like all the greats before him. Mercedes knew that, that's why they signed Russell to be the successor. No driver is bigger than the team, and F1 is a team championship first. Drivers are just commodities that can easily be replaced, Hamilton, Verstappen, included. 

Today's race is a bitter sweet race. Seeing Russell overachieve in the Mercedes is nice, see Norris on the podium again with the McLaren is nice, but seeing the Ferraris self destruct again is painful. One is no fault of Sainz, the other however is a mistake by Leclerc. They deserves better luck than that. 

CGX car nut:

Lord_Driftalot:

It's really painful to watch how Marc is doing so far in this season! 

How is it possible that from one day (season) to another the best F1 team in history struggles so badly coming back to perform accordingly

Their car is just pure failure and I wonder if maybe there sidepod-design might be the main issue and in order to stick to their revolutionary design of the car they want to keep it. 

I remember when once Ferrari (as well sidepods) and Williams (hammerhead shark nose) tried something different and they've ruined their season with it.

Haven’t you paid attention?  We’ve been told numerous times on RT that Mercedes’ woes are a direct result of the unfair  FIA punishing Mercedes with the least amount of aero time.

Exactly. And that it was Hamilton´s superior driving that made them win the title at all... I mean, if Hamilton ends up at 13th place overall his teammate must be last... or not?

To be fair, Hamilton can go all in if it counts, when he is able to win a race or a championship. I can actually feel for him that he doesn't want to waste his energy finishing 12th instead of 13th, even if I doubt that was possible anyhow.

The cars are very different to the previous ones, I am not the least surprised that a few teams will struggle more in the transition than others. Just a bit surprised that it is them but I stick to my previous comments that, once they sort out their main issues, they will become competitive again. Somewhat funny nonetheless that so far, Russel has the edge over Hamilton. 

If you see, how some drivers struggle at certain points or in certain cars, such as Ricciardo the last two seasons or Sainz in this, although they have delivered very solid performances in the past, just shows that F1 is not made of simple equations. The cars have to suit the driver and their driving styles...

Lord_Driftalot:

Their car is just pure failure and I wonder if maybe there sidepod-design might be the main issue and in order to stick to their revolutionary design of the car they want to keep it. 

I remember when once Ferrari (as well sidepods) and Williams (hammerhead shark nose) tried something different and they've ruined their season with it.

Regarding the side pods, I doubt that they are the direct cause of this. As I said before, the phenomenon that occurs on this years´ cars is new to most engineers on the grid as they haven't had the experience of the old ground effect cars a few decades ago. Funny that for example Newey was already around back then... 

The subject is very complex and hard to analyze, hence the further we come in the season the more the teams will understand the behavior of the cars and due to this, Mercedes being the one with the biggest porpoising, will benefit the most.

Ferdie:

CGX car nut:

Lord_Driftalot:

It's really painful to watch how Marc is doing so far in this season! 

How is it possible that from one day (season) to another the best F1 team in history struggles so badly coming back to perform accordingly

Their car is just pure failure and I wonder if maybe there sidepod-design might be the main issue and in order to stick to their revolutionary design of the car they want to keep it. 

I remember when once Ferrari (as well sidepods) and Williams (hammerhead shark nose) tried something different and they've ruined their season with it.

Haven’t you paid attention?  We’ve been told numerous times on RT that Mercedes’ woes are a direct result of the unfair  FIA punishing Mercedes with the least amount of aero time.

Exactly. And that it was Hamilton´s superior driving that made them win the title at all... I mean, if Hamilton ends up at 13th place overall his teammate must be last... or not?

To be fair, Hamilton can go all in if it counts, when he is able to win a race or a championship. I can actually feel for him that he doesn't want to waste his energy finishing 12th instead of 13th, even if I doubt that was possible anyhow.

The cars are very different to the previous ones, I am not the least surprised that a few teams will struggle more in the transition than others. Just a bit surprised that it is them but I stick to my previous comments that, once they sort out their main issues, they will become competitive again. Somewhat funny nonetheless that so far, Russel has the edge over Hamilton. 

If you see, how some drivers struggle at certain points or in certain cars, such as Ricciardo the last two seasons or Sainz in this, although they have delivered very solid performances in the past, just shows that F1 is not made of simple equations. The cars have to suit the driver and their driving styles...

@CGX car nut

I've read all of this but still I don't understand why RedBull isn't suffering as much as Mere? Is it maybe because of their different raken concept?

Interesting is that Mere is doing fine with higher temps so maybe they'll be achieve big time as soon as the summer season is starting 

Obviously Charles was to motivated today and after losing the start to not only Max but as well to Checo he was a poor performer today.

George is really a gem to watch and obviously the Mere is a very bad car when even Valteri could almost catch him at the end.

Lewis was just not in the zone and on the straights his topspeed was very low, even with DRS support.

W/o losing positions in the box because of Ocon he might have been at least top10 if not top 8 today

This year is new regulations, everyone sort of starts off on the same blank sheet of paper. Some has more time to draw on the paper, some has less.

Ferrari and Red Bull got their concept in the ballpark right out of the gate. Mercedes didn't. Also, don't forget Red Bull has Newey in their camp, one of the greatest car designer of all time. 

I do like this season - less opportunities to fall asleep… l am happy for AM to get its first points, l did enjoy HAM‘s struggle / persistence to get passed, RUS fighting off BOT, NOR driving very consistent laps, l was a bit sad for SAI and the crowd,  but that‘s racing…and, my gosh, a hundred thousand people at the event ! 😎

Something from Scarbs on the side pods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzdqfqXONhs

d997h:

I do like this season - less opportunities to fall asleep… l am happy for AM to get its first points, l did enjoy HAM‘s struggle / persistence to get passed, RUS fighting off BOT, NOR driving very consistent laps, l was a bit sad for SAI and the crowd,  but that‘s racing…and, my gosh, a hundred thousand people at the event ! 😎

This season has been about parity. No more dynasties like the Ferrari years, the Red Bull years and recently the Mercedes years. Back markers of past seasons have a chance to get back into the midfield at least, if not higher. FIA's neutering rule has shown it has potential. They have room to go farther however, maybe having the winning car carry extra weight like other series, or, some creative outside the box thinking, winner of the last race need to do an extra stop over the field? Or mandatory hard compound start for the race? 

Last year it was about tuning in Sunday to see fi Max or Hamilton win the race, that's it. This year it's like who cares who is winning the race, let's see which underdog over perform and finish higher, maybe K-Mag in the Haas? How about Vettel  in the top 10? Yuki performing in the Alpha Tauri? Can Russell finish higher than Hamilton. Will Albon shine in the Williams like Russell did? Bottas for real in the Alfa Romeo? Does Alonso still got it? Can Norris podium? Every team on the grid has a story to tell. 

Talking about Aston Martin. If senior finally decided he had wasted enough money to bankroll his son's expensive hobby, and decided to sell to Audi, Jr will certainly follow Mazepin's footstep and be out of F1 forever. Timeline for the change will be 2026, 4 years away. Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso will surely be out of F1 by then, who would Audi recruit?  Will they find someone within the F1 grid? Or will they look within and find a sports car driver to try? 

https://racingnews365.com/rosberg-accuses-wolff-of-not-telling-the-truth-to-protect-hamilton

JoeRockhead:

https://racingnews365.com/rosberg-accuses-wolff-of-not-telling-the-truth-to-protect-hamilton

 

Haha, and Rosberg also not telling the truth either. Think he is still bitter about Hamilton and never pass up a good chance to shade Hamilton.

Russell made all his gain from 11th to 4th mostly from the good start he got, and from the chaos in turn 2. After that he made what? 1 pass or was it 2? Literally the same number of passes Hamilton made on track. And Bottas was right on his tail at the end, almost taking P5.

Hamilton didn't have the greatest of starts, and he also was too conservative going into turn 2, didn't quite take risks like Russell did. Neither really made much progress after. Mercedes isn't faster than all the mid field cars, they aren't passing cars around with ease like the Red Bull or Ferrari can.

Whoopsy:

JoeRockhead:

https://racingnews365.com/rosberg-accuses-wolff-of-not-telling-the-truth-to-protect-hamilton

 

Haha, and Rosberg also not telling the truth either. Think he is still bitter about Hamilton and never pass up a good chance to shade Hamilton.

Russell made all his gain from 11th to 4th mostly from the good start he got, and from the chaos in turn 2. After that he made what? 1 pass or was it 2? Literally the same number of passes Hamilton made on track. And Bottas was right on his tail at the end, almost taking P5.

Hamilton didn't have the greatest of starts, and he also was too conservative going into turn 2, didn't quite take risks like Russell did. Neither really made much progress after. Mercedes isn't faster than all the mid field cars, they aren't passing cars around with ease like the Red Bull or Ferrari can.

 

 

HA!  Though I don't think Rosberg has as much motivation to downplay Hamilton as you think, the opposite actually, for Rosberg, he generally pumps up Hamilton since it makes him look better.  "Hamilton is the best ever and I beat him once".

Hamilton was hurt by midfield train and a sub par pit stop that relinquished what gains he had made.  But Russell had a better weekend than Hamilton to not be stuck due to better Qualifying in and Sprint Race results.  Hamilton should take the weekend on the chin versus Russell and move on.

Is Hamilton the new Bottas at Merc? 

Russell has been solid with the same shi**y car, and it looks bad on Hamilton. Maybe his heart is no longer in it. 

Exactly. Russell gained 5 positions at start and Hamilton 2. In the wet is a lottery. See that happened to Sainz...

Then Russell overtook KMag at the chicane so he got into 5th. Later in the race Leclerc did a mistake and Russell got into 4th position.

Yesterday he was the lucky one. Hamilton was stuck behind Gasly and Albon with no DRS for like 20 laps. After that he tried to overtake Gasly so many times but the car is very slow and Gasly also had DRS...so yeah. No chance.

Wasn't it in Saudi Arabia where Hamilton pitted before the SC and Russell did it during the SC? No luck this year so far.

Hamilton is a very high level competitor and a multi-title holder, since the age of 11 years. He is not interested for some extra points or a random podium and therefore he is not trying much in an inferior and inadequate car. He is used to winning and therefore it is irrelevant for him if he comes third or thirteenth. Besides at 37 he cannot be as motivated as he was years ago. Why he didn't leave when he was on top? because the money in this sport is huge and the temptation to carry on regardless of success is great.

Russell is young boy trying to climb the F1 ladder and each little point is a success for him. It is to his credit that he is a promising driver trying hard.

--

"Porsche....and Nothing else matters"

Russell also out qualified Ham, and was better in the sprint. It's okay to admit it. 

Have you seen the bouncing of the mercs? Yikes. Must feel brutal inside the car…

997.2 4S / BMW 745e / Donkervoort GT 

https://wtf1.com/post/russell-reveals-hes-battling-back-and-chest-pains-from-mercedes-bouncing/

997.2 4S / BMW 745e / Donkervoort GT 

JoeRockhead:

Is Hamilton the new Bottas at Merc? 

Russell has been solid with the same shi**y car, and it looks bad on Hamilton. Maybe his heart is no longer in it. 

It's not a surprise to many that this would happen, Hamilton should of not come back after last season, at least this way he would of maintained the illusion to his fan boys that he was the best driver of the grid all these years and not the fact that that he was cruising with a car that was a category class above every other driver's and was given a mediocre teammate on purpose that didn't challenge him making him look better than he is, just like Vettel while at RB except he had tougher teammates.

I was actually surprised to see that they allowed a guy like Russell to drive the same car this season because this was going to happen.

spudgun:

Have you seen the bouncing of the mercs? Yikes. Must feel brutal inside the car…

It's awful. The Ferrari's are pretty bad as well.

Carlos from Spain:

JoeRockhead:

Is Hamilton the new Bottas at Merc? 

Russell has been solid with the same shi**y car, and it looks bad on Hamilton. Maybe his heart is no longer in it. 

It's not a surprise to many that this would happen, Hamilton should of not come back after last season, at least this way he would of maintained the illusion to his fan boys that he was the best driver of the grid all these years and not the fact that that he was cruising with a car that was a category class above every other driver's and was given a mediocre teammate on purpose that didn't challenge him making him look better than he is, just like Vettel while at RB except he had tougher teammates.

I was actually surprised to see that they allowed a guy like Russell to drive the same car this season because this was going to happen.

Why not? Hamilton doesn't last forever, Mercedes needs to plan the succession, Russell is their future, and the future is now. Maybe it wasn't supposed to turn out like this, maybe this was going to be an apprentice year for Russell to race with Hamilton. But Russell really is a gem of a talent, maybe tops on the grid. 

He came back just because he likes the challenge, he wanted to conquer the new regs also. This is the 4th sets of regulations he had raced under, and he had won during the previous 3 sets.

And no, he didn't quite have the rocket car for all his years. Maybe 2014-2016 years, where Mercedes with their split turbo setup was head and shoulder above everyone else. 

Ferrari could have won with Vettel, they were actually leading the 2017 season and if not for some things that happened, Hamilton would not have won. 2018 was another season where Ferrari had a late season collapse with Vettel before handing the championship to Hamilton. 

2019 The Ferraris were again quick, together with the improved Red Bulls, it was supposed to shaped up to be a 3 way battle. But as luck would have it, the Red Bulls aren't quite there yet and the Ferraris, well they did Ferrari things for the first half of the season. Mid season the Ferrari got some not quite legal improvements, and Horner smelled blood after a while and killed them off. Which sort of handed the championship to Mercedes. 

2020 was really only a dominant year for Mercedes because of Ferrari's punishment for a not quite legal fuel system. 

2021, Red Bull had the fastest car, not Mercedes. 

2022, well, the Mercedes maybe ranked 6th? Maybe 5th tops? They are a solid mid field pace, definitely not top 2 or 3. 

It is amusing how much bashing Hamilton gets.  He seems to live in many peoples heads rent free.

He is the most successful, and that by default attracts the most hate already.

His off track stuff is also not agreeable to a lot of people.

Also the elephant in the room, racism. He is black. But he is also the most successful ever in a white man's sport.

Then there is jealousy. A lot of racing fans are fans of Schumacher, Senna etc. Hamilton in the Mercedes pretty much shattered all their heroes' records. But the fact that Hamilton took a risk and ditched McLaren while McLaren was still at the top of it's game and jump ship to Mercedes, an unproven team at the time, escape their minds. Mercedes could have very well fallen flat on their face at that time, they didn't. Mercedes turns out to be the best run team and with the best driver, that's the secret to their success over the last few years.

All the records Hamilton set, the incoming generation have no chance to break. While Hamilton was head and shoulder above his competition, Verstappen isn't that much higher up, if at all, with Leclerc, Russell, and Norris. These 4 will be fighting for championships for years to come. 

The FIA neutering rule also doesn't help, top team won't stay on top for long. At this rate, either Red Bull or Ferrari will win the championship, thus getting the chop, and McLaren or Mercedes could close the gap and be competitive. Hence even Haas might get a chance. Or Bottas in the Alfa. How about Gasly in the Alpha Tauri? 

But seriously the next 10 years F1 will be hyper competitive. No one team or one driver will dominate. At best a driver could maybe do 2 in a row. Max got one last year, he could win again this year, but winning next year might be a bridge too far to stretch to 3 if he does get 2 in a row. 

2026 F1 will have new regulations again, the field will certainly get reshuffled again. Maybe Albon in the Williams will come out as top dog? And the Red Bull (maybe) Porsche might turned out to be a pig like this year's Mercedes and Verstappen will be fighting for P16 every race. 

Whoopsy. Really? Dismissing differing opinions by blaming it on racism? Sounds very left wing to me.  Pointing out that Russell is beating him in the same car is hardly racist, but it does reveal Hamilton’s flaws, doesn’t it?

Hamilton is as good as his car allows him to be, and always has been. Put him in a midfield car, and he will finish in the midfield. Same with Verstappen, Lec, and Russell. Verstappen admitted it himself when he said if they give him a car that can win races, he will win, and if they don’t, he won’t. 

thuggy:

It is amusing how much bashing Hamilton gets.  He seems to live in many peoples heads rent free.

When you see other's perfectly respectable and argumented opinion as "bashing" you have to wonder on who's head he is actually living in and in which manner. Saying that Hamilton is not as good as he looked to be when driving with the dominant Mercedes these years is not bashing buddy, it's just an opinion, relax. So far the talented rookie Russell is proving my point.

Had the same opinion of Vettel when many where saying he was one of the best of all time when he was winning with the dominant RB.

Truth is there is not as big a difference between the top drivers as many seem to believe or want to believe, there is no clear stand out, it varies, not to mention that if there was one, there is no way to tell given the differences in cars and conditions and luck from Sunday to Sunday, thinking one can tell is a fantasy one's head.

JoeRockhead:

Whoopsy. Really? Dismissing differing opinions by blaming it on racism? Sounds very left wing to me.  Pointing out that Russell is beating him in the same car is hardly racist, but it does reveal Hamilton’s flaws, doesn’t it?

Hamilton is as good as his car allows him to be, and always has been. Put him in a midfield car, and he will finish in the midfield. Same with Verstappen, Lec, and Russell. Verstappen admitted it himself when he said if they give him a car that can win races, he will win, and if they don’t, he won’t. 

Believe it or not, the world is much bigger than this forum on the corner of the internet. There are plenty of race fans out there in the world hating Hamilton just because it is black. I know we are in the 2020s, but it still happens. I wasn't calling out anyone in this forum. 

Racism is still real, just because people still wanted to talk about it. Not just in F1, but any sport, any circles, people still want to raise race as a topic. Or gender for that matters. 

All those this "who is who" is the first woman/trans/black/asian/japanese/chinese/korean/saudi/iraqi/native/whatever to do this or achieve this. That's promoting racism. Why can't they just say who and who achieved this, won that, and be done with it? We are all humans, period. 

Personally I am sick of it, but being sick of it doesn't mean it's not happening, or can't talk about it, the elephant is always standing there in the room. Not talking about or mentioning it doesn't mean the elephant magically disappeared. 

Carlos from Spain:

thuggy:

It is amusing how much bashing Hamilton gets.  He seems to live in many peoples heads rent free.

When you see other's perfectly respectable and argumented opinion as "bashing" you have to wonder on who's head he is actually living in and in which manner. Saying that Hamilton is not as good as he looked to be when driving with the dominant Mercedes these years is not bashing buddy, it's just an opinion, relax. So far the talented rookie Russell is proving my point.

Had the same opinion of Vettel when many where saying he was one of the best of all time when he was winning with the dominant RB.

Truth is there is not as big a difference between the top drivers as many seem to believe or want to believe, there is no clear stand out, it varies, not to mention that if there was one, there is no way to tell given the differences in cars and conditions and luck from Sunday to Sunday, thinking one can tell is a fantasy one's head.

When you refer to people as “fanboys”, not sure that’s a respectable and argumented reference.   It would  be like me saying anyone who doesn’t like Hamilton is a racist (which I’m not saying).  So there are Hamilton fans who can be balanced and open minded and Hamilton detractors who can be the same.    So yes, he seems to be living in peoples heads that there seems to be an extra joy when Mercedes is behind and when his team mate is ahead one week on skill and two other weeks with racing luck.