Formula 1 2018

[mjustincredible]

Ocon will take Bottas seat at Mercedes in 2020, shame he has to sit out next season. I like Mad Max kicking off and making it interesting. Formula 1 needs Characters and real tension between the top guys! Ocon, Verstappen and Leclerc are the new generation and I want them all in very similar cars and all hating each other for the next 10 years

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

Jolyon Palmer's opinions on the race. Worth reading.

Interesting snippet on Ocon

He's had his fair share of incidents, mainly with his team-mate, and that's been a focal point of his career - and one of the reported reasons Mercedes were reluctant to promote him to their team for next year was because they were worried about team harmony.

[wolf359]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bqml8U3FyV- ... sjrcu4qs3w

Actually quite funny, better than the lame radio message in Brazil.

Last race of the season, everyone appears knackered, a number of cars are on their last legs (relatively speaking) . Hopefully Liberty will listen and take this 25 races idea and bin it (they won't since $$ wins). Mercs seem dominant, but Red Bull doing their annual we'll be their next season routine and will be close today,

[York Ham(mer)]

Well, that was a bit of a shunt for Hulkenberg. Glad he was able to walk away from it.

[sicknote]

That’s where the halo is dangerous, he couldn’t get out, and if it had caught fire properly, how would they ave pushed it over to get him out

[wolf359]

That’s where the halo is dangerous, he couldn’t get out, and if it had caught fire properly, how would they ave pushed it over to get him out

Yes, was a text book example of why some (knowledgeable) people didn't want it. I suppose it is a balance of risks.

[wolf359]

Raining in the desert :lol:

[sicknote]

rain


thisll be fun

vettel should crash

[Bend it like Repka]

When you sit back and review the season even his biggest haters must realise the Lewis is a genius.

For lots of the season he and Vettel had comparable machinery, but Hamiton won through a combination of making no mistakes and sheer genius.

The overtake at Monza and his Singapore quali lap were the defining moments in his 5th championship.

He destroyed both Vettel and Bottas this year. It's going to be tough for both of them to mentally turn that around.

[westham,eggyandchips]

When you sit back and review the season even his biggest haters must realise the Lewis is a genius.

Great driver. No genius involved when driving the fastest car on the grid though.

He destroyed both Vettel and Bottas this year. It's going to be tough for both of them to mentally turn that around.

Please don't use Bottas as an example of how great Lewis is. The bloke is embarrassing. Even Kimi and Max finished above him. He's a patsy of the highest order.

Not a bad season.... viewing wise. A few iffy races mid-season, but it still entertained.

The best driver and car won.

[Clacton-ammer]

Hamilton has been close to perfect with his driving this season, there is no doubting his ability.

Was interesting to see Lewis/Max in the press conference, I think Lewis recognises that Max, if he has the car (which sounds like he may well have, but they said that last season), will be one of the main challengers to him next season.

I hope Max does, at least 3 fighting it out will give F1 much needed extra competition.

[Bend it like Repka]

Great driver. No genius involved when driving the fastest car on the grid though.

Churlish to say the least. Even if it was the fastest car (it was the joint fastest for most the season) you still have to get the best out of it, especially at tracks where the other rival car is deemed to be better suited.

Hamiltion's quali lap at Singapore was undoubtedly genius. Even his own team boss couldn't believe his pole lap. Merc expected that race to be damage limitation. Instead Hamilton pulled out a lap that maybe only Senna could be capable of matching.

Mercs clearly had a tyre wear deficit against both Ferrari and Red Bull. Making them last while keeping the pace competitive is more of a hidden genius that many can't understand.

Please don't use Bottas as an example of how great Lewis is. The bloke is embarrassing. Even Kimi and Max finished above him. He's a patsy of the highest order.

It's easy to write off Bottas in such a manner. The reality is Bottas is probably somewhere around the 7th or 8th best driver on the grid. When he was at Williams he was viewed in the manner of Ocon is now. Remember he outscored Massa two seasons in a row, so using that as a benchmark he can't be that bad.

The reality is, like Vandoorne has found out against Alonso, when you are up against real world class, the gap is big, and you end up getting steamrollered. Bottas proves that you need more than a decent car.

Hamilton would crush, Ocon, Hulkenburg, Perez, Grosjean and Sainz in exactly the same way.

Put Hamilton in a Ferrari last two seasons and he would still have won both titles.

[Johnny Byrne's Boots]

................................

Put Hamilton in a Ferrari last two seasons and he would still have won both titles.

A few F! journos have said the same. What would have been interesting is Hamilton in the Ferrari against Vettel in the Mercedes.

[view from the shires]

The long wheel base and chassis design of the Mercedes means it definitely not as "usable" as the Ferrari and Red Bull. This is where Lewis has excelled and Valtteri has struggled. The talent Lewis has means that he has been able to extract the most out of the car.

Also Ferrari powered cars outperformed Mercedes powered cars in the speed traps at most races. Given that it was slower in a straight line, and didn't handle as well as the opposition, it can hardly be called the best car. It was reliable though and had a driver that didn't make costly mistakes.

[sicknote]

f1 2019 needs its own thread I believe , feel free to kick one off