If it wasn't for the Williams getting ahead it would have been a borefest. There was no racing. Much enjoyed the classics on BBC 2 before the race. 1995 still angers me.
Williams were far too conservative with strategy, and it cost them. With the pace difference to the rest of the field, if they'd split strategies the worst they should have got was 3rd and 4th, before the rain. I'd have thought they should have boxed Bottas around the time Hamilton came in, and left Massa to hold up Rosberg, which he was perfectly capable of. Bottas would have then been on the same strategy that got Hamilton ahead of Massa. Even if you ignored the threat of rain, they gave up beating Hamilton the moment he pitted first. I think the BBC commentators spoke mid-race to Clare Williams, who seemed like a bundle of indecisive nerves. I can't believe that didn't filter down. That said, its probably a contender for best race of the season. Although that might say more about the other races than this one.
Didn't get up to watch the race live as they've been as dull as dishwasher all season. Wish I'd have got up for that one now. Not much overtaking, but at least somewhat interesting.
Benson writing his race report - "Majestic Hamilton to become god after superhuman performance defeats the weather and some other blokes in cars too" Was just away to post this.... very similar to his austria and canada incidents.....albeit the conditions/inter tyre will play more of a factor on this one You can actually hear the power "spike" though, i still maintain his throttle application is the issue, everything else that contributes is just making it clearer.
What a race F1 has never had it so good , and Brits like me is so enjoying watching Lewis Hamilton break records race after race. A true global superstar . And what a call by Lewis to pit and go onto the inters. Lewis Surly has to be one of the best drivers to drive a dominant car as he has a teammate who destroyed the great Michael Schumacher 3 years in a row and must be regarded as the best driver to come out of Germany . But unfortunately for Nico Schumacher is no Hamilton. Big respect to Bernie and the FIA for putting F1 in such a strong position. And BTW British fans are the best just look at the crowd today over a hundred thousand, the only people saying F1 is boring are the anti Hami extremists.
Me too. Somebody should explain to him that it's not really a "power spike", it's called a torque curve and turbocharged engines deliver a steeper curve lower down the rev range as the turbo comes more on song (a spike could be similar to turbo lag, but less extreme given they have ers to spin the turbo up to more or less totally avoid it...but still basically a light case of turbo lag), the effect of which can be controlled with throttle control. If you drive an old Mr2 turbo on the road the exact way you'd drive a 1.2 fiesta if you are "making good time officer", then you'll basically end up doing what Kimi is doing so often.
It was the same old story just dressed as lamb. The Mercedes dominate and no top cars can overtake each other, didn't even get close enough.
To be fair, If Williams had have come in a little sooner on that first stop or at least matched the Mercs, they could have given us a proper race. It was a better race than we've been served in a while as the result wasn't a foregone conclusion as soon as the light's went out. What's really annoying (other than merc dominance) is the tyres still. Even if you're behind a slower car, attacking is limited due to fear of destroying the useless things. Open up engine development, give em proper tyres and quit restricting fuel and fuel flow, and we might actually get a race!
Totally agree. Tyres degrading is all fine in theory for creating a "race" and 0not a problem when several cars are fairly equal on pace and most cars are all running in clean air, but when cars lose grip following other cars it's just eating their tyres it actually stops the racing. If they halved the rate of degredation but kept the manadatory stop rule, where's the problem in that? I mean you'd still have drivers pitting,race strategies, drivers on newer tyres/different compounds being quicker but the difference is they'd be able to attack on the tyres for more or less the whole stint (fuel allowing).
Let the drivers and teams pick from all available compounds too. Surely the more diverse strategy, the better!
nah, they should've got on the blower to Massa around lap 5 or 6 and told him "Valteri is faster than you". As for the race, I found it even more boring than usual, normally I'm kept entertained by something happening further down the field, but this race didn't really even have that. yeah, there was a brief fight up front, which is a rarity, but the action happened in the pits.
I wonder if Bottas really would have been much faster. If they swapped spots and Massa had the DRS advantage, it may have just been a position switch. Hard to say for sure imo.
That's some awesome driving in the rain on slicks. It was looking like a better weekend for Kimi but once again it all went wrong. I never thought I'd want to see Kimi lose his drive but Ferrari could do with someone stronger in that car.
This has to be one of the most lob sided views on both the state of F1 and Lewis v Nico. I appreciate it is a British article after a British race with a British driver, but the lack of perspective and neutrality is shocking. In addition Lewis was rated at 9.5 and Nico 7.5. I am NOT a Nico fan but as a British F1 fan I find the quality of reports shocking, Due to confusion please be aware that the following text has been taken from the Sky Website and written in the section of GP Conclusions! All's well that ends well. For Lewis Hamilton, outspoken in his criticism at the start of the week about the tin-pot quality of F1's silverware, a golden new trophy wife; for the sport as a whole, a trophy weekend to silence the critics. Crisis averted? It’s amazing what an action-packed race, a home win, a bit of sunshine and packed grandstands can do for F1's image. Slowly but surely, our own image of Hamilton is also being transformed, with his race-winning decision to pit for intermediate tyres with ten laps remaining of a topsy-turvy race vivid illustration of his newly-developed maturity. Hamilton wants to be considered Mercedes' team leader; literally and metaphorically, it appears he is beginning to learn how to lead from the front as well. Nevertheless, depicting Hamilton’s inspired call as a stroke of tactical genius would be a betrayal of the impression that it was a decision desperately primarily applied due to Rosberg’s assault; just as Nico gave no thought to pitting after reducing Lewis’ lead from five seconds to one in two laps, staying out was a guaranteed lose-lose for Hamilton. Had the world champion stayed out on track, it was a racing certainty he would have been overtaken by Rosberg. A brief surrender to rearm was smart thinking from Hamilton – remember when he was portrayed as the unthinking man’s driver a year ago? - and his struggles to match Rosberg’s pace in the preceding laps can be attributed to the understeer which he had dialled into his car before qualifying. While his quick thinking was the race’s decisive moment, it would be remiss not to stress that Hamilton was sauntering to victory before the rain fell after dovetailing his hitherto recalcitrant Mercedes perfectly to the conditions. One way or another, this was a deserved victory – and all things considered, the perfect result for F1. please log in to view this image Rosberg is lucky to be as close as he is Hamilton’s superiority over Rosberg in qualifying is another trenchant response to any suggestion that the Englishman was in any way fortunate this weekend. In the context of Hamilton’s 8-1 season-long Saturday advantage, Rosberg’s proximity in the standings – still the equivalent of a second place finish – is remarkable and owes a heavy debt to the mammoth size of Mercedes’ advantage. The tenth of a second that separated Rosberg from Hamilton in their battle for pole this weekend may not sound substantial but the same difference in lap times covered positions eight to eleven. In normal circumstances, an 8-1 deficit in qualifying would convert into a hefty difference in the standings as well. But there’s nothing normal about the advantage, which reached eight tenths this Saturday, currently Mercedes hold over their distant rivals. And the elephant in the title room remains the Monaco desecration. But for the 17-point swing produced Mercedes’ pitwall aberration, Hamilton’s lead would now stand at 34 points – a healthy buffer in any currency and a far more accurate reflection of the two Mercedes drivers’ respective performances this term.
