Grand Prix thread Official Not606 Canadian Grand Prix Chat and Predictions

This could be the start of a monumental battle between Seb and Lewis. I gave Seb a bit of harsh criticism yesterday but everybody makes mistakes, when you outdrive the car, **** tends to happen. I did enjoy it as it had me on the end of my seat. Rosberg has properly rolled over again so I'm not going to bother speculating on his title hopes. Ricciardo seems to be getting more and more frustrated. Credit to Bottas podium out of nowhere, in Monaco they were dire.

I hope next season we see a lot of that but with Ferrari and Mercedes neck and neck, if we are lucky we will get it towards the back end of this season. Its taken them long enough.

Id like to believe Kimi didn't have the update in his car, because his pace was way off Vettels.

Anyway, i'll try and get the Baku race thread up later on.

 

It's looking good for the rest of the season. Merc have had two genuine challenges from different teams at the last two tracks. They can no longer just rock up each weekend and expect to win.

Unfortunately their wins were gifted to them by bad strategy from the others, but Lewis has chased them the whole way to benefit from this. Are the others trying too hard with strategy because they think that's the only way they can beat Merc? Stupid thing is neither team had to do anything clever.

 

Want a downer on things? Teams are starting to close up on each other just in time for a major rules overhaul.

Vettel missed the chicane 4 times yesterday? Costing him 1.5-2.5s a time. Could have been right on Hamiltons tail at the end without those. Then again if he didn't push so hard he may not have been so close anyway.

Baku should be interesting as it's a unknown to everyone. With Rosberg faltering and Hamilton guaranteed PU penalties Vettel could sneak into the title race and give us a heck of a season.

 

Street circuit style venue should be good for RBR

 

This...although Ferrari picked the wrong strategy (with hindsight) they should have been nose to tail at the end. Although I think with track position Lewis was never in threat.

In relation to the start, Nico has been criticised (various press)for trying to go round the outside at the start, but in reality what was he supposed to do? Lewis's start was that slow and he had positioned his car at Nico with the intention of blocking. I don't think he ever had the intention of overtaking - even though he was ahead entering the corner - which is why the contact was even more unnecessary from a team perspective.

You can blame under steer all you like as a reason you didn't intend to make contact, but if you compromise your optimum entry line and try and outbrake your team mate, physics will play its part. I think the point Ern is making (which is why I keep getting pissed off) is this "crowding" and "advantage" definition in F1 terms is so vague it's almost pointless.

Some may argue that Lewis 'could' have received three penalties in the last three races.

 

Rosberg has the experience to know that a driver drifts out of the first corner to an extent anyway, he also give Lewis little room to allow for that so contact.. Goes back to what is 'alongside' and in front. They were side by side at the apex with Rosberg having a bit more momentum to draw slightly ahead. Had Hamilton fully backed out at that point, chances are Rosberg would have carried on turning in meaning front wheel/wing to his rear wheel would have been the result, with probably worse consequences for both, than a square on bang of both wheels.

Then there is the 'racing line' nonsense. In this case Hamilton had it into the first corner, Rosberg would have had it into turn 2. Point of contact was somewhere in between, so who had it at that point? Is still a daft rule.

I can't see any intention here of crowding or pushing. Rosberg came off worse, in other contact at that corner it has been the driver on the inside who has also spun out following similar contact.

Ern would be better off making his point without constantly turning it into an issue of race and a general rant at Hamilton. Then we'd pay more attention to what he is trying to say and discuss it with him properly.

 

Hamilton didn't 'drift out' on any of the following laps, despite having less wear on his tyres than he did on lap 1, Verstappen managed to overtake and avoid hitting anyone, so why can't the 'best driver op the grid' manage it, the answer is simple, he didn't want to because Rosberg would've passed him and he knows if he does anything wrong his team and the stewards will protect him.
I say it as I see it, just like I did after Austin last year when he hit Rosberg, I was one of the few who defended him because it was obvious what happened. Yesterday was obvious as well he purposefull pushed Rosberg off track, no doubt about it.

 

In fairness it was just the 2014 start in reverse. And that was much of a muchness as well.

I would find a better video but I'm on my phone.

 

Just to clarify I think it was as expected in racing. My point, is that the rules are that vague that all drivers implement them differently. In this case, Lewis's bad start resulted in contact between team mates, that's twice in 3 races.

 

Maybe Ferrari and Redbull are just making life hard for themselves as a result of, like you said, not believing they are basically there. Mercedes know this will be their hardest fight for the title. I just hope SF and RB don't switch onto 2017 too soon robbing us of some quality racing.

 

Yeah pretty much. Although it could be said it's another power circuit so expect williams and force india back up there.

 

The way Rosberg & Hamilton like to kiss each other on the track, the title is still wide open for Ric and Seb to keep pushing hard and for their teams to carry on developing their 2016 machines. I hope they do carry on with their push, okay Merc are still winning but it is good to see them really having to work for it now.

 

While Lewis may have initiated the under steer in turn 1 to push Nico wide. Would he risk it when he knows Merc will tell Nico to move over if necessary? I am not a Lewis fan (he likes himself way too much and is trying to create his image he sees as the most financial lucrative) but I do admire some of his driving.
One other think that seems to be being overlooked is Nicos return to the track. OK so he didn't have much choice if he were to retain a chance of points but when he came back on trace both Red Bulls had to take avoiding action not to mention a few behind them. Isn't there some thing about re entering the track in a safe manner?
Also while Vettel lost some time by missing the chicanes why didn't he get penalised? Maybe it was deemed that he lost too much time and that was punishment enough?
The 'flexi' wings seem to have cropped up again. With Red Bull saying they passed all the tests but video showing them flex.

There do seem way too many rules that are open to interpretation. I think we need a consistent panel of stewards, that way same offence same punishment or not.

 

No your right, he knew exactly where is was putting his car. Nico would never have beat him to the next apex for turn 2 so in my opinion it was pointless contact. I'm suprised Merc Think otherwise.

Unless people have raced it's hard to understand. There is an optimum line, brake point, turn in point etc. Once you deviate from this (even minimally) it creates a chain of reactions resultant from the input. It's not at an argument/defence to say because I changed my approach I'm not in control of the potential outcome.

 

I agree the rules are vague, I really dislike the racing line rule. If a car is alongside you, it should be given the necessary room and not forced 'off line'.

Whilst this rules remains in place, what Lewis does is not liked by a lot of people (not least myself because of my dislike of the rule), it is within the rules so as far as the FIA are concerned it is fine.

 

If it had been Schumacher, Maldonado, Grosjean or Rosberg that had done it you lot would've been screaming blue murder

 

It's because of Schumacher that the racing line rule is in place.

Didn't like it then, don't like it now. Never changed my view on that.

Maldonado and Grosjean just drove into people when they were young and keen. No racing line rule there, they were their own portable demolition derby.

 

Wading into the Lewis debate, in all honesty i'm with Lewis. For a couple of reasons.
From a drivers POV, Nico should know better than to try and stick to Lewis's outside. Why? Because Lewis could just make the excuse of understeer, or that he was giving the drivers on his inside some more berth. Plain and simple the most that was going to be labelled as was a racing incident. Heard that before?

Yes. Spain this season, but back then Hamilton was at fault for making a more than optimistic lunge down his inside.

Another reason I can't really attack Lewis is my sympathy with his driving technique. There is no time for hesitancy in this title fight, if Nico wanted this title he wouldn't have made Lewis's job so easy in Monaco, why move over like that when the track isn't wide enough to pull a proper overtake, you are fighting for position, and you had a chance to make the win easier for a Redbull? Just why?

Back to Lewis's driving style, on a more sentimental note, it does echo a Senna/Schumacheresque aggression, which is the style I am attracted to. It is a trivial point I know. But you don't win titles driving like Rosberg. Not when you have two redbull drivers, Vettel and Bottas up your chuff.

 

100% agree - well put.

 

It isn;t though, in fact crowding someone off the track is against the rules. (but then so are illegal tyre tests and jumping chaicanes to gain an advantage)