Chinese GP chat and Predicitions.

I think it depends on how he does this year, plus we don't know what agreements they have for their 'rules of engagement'. Could be a case of 'race to the first corner' since Ferrari became a threat. In yesterday's race Bottas wasn't much of the pace, the double stacking stretched it a little bit and probaby cost a couple of seconds, but atm he's doing the job he's paid for, getting the highest result possible with the car.

 

Oh I think he is doing very well so far , esp after the end of last year .

I just have a feeling the die is cast .

Hope I’m wrong , if not , hope he gets a good drive fo4 next year .

 

If Bottas can maintain his form then there's not much argument for replacing him. Problem is for races like China and Aus there's also Bahrain, where he was well off. Also in 2018 he was besting Hamilton in the early races fair and square, and he's not doing that this year so far.

 

I am not convinced that Ocon could beat Bottas. last year Bottas had a terrible first half reliability followed by team orders. His head was definitely screwed up last year and I think too much is assumed as to his mood this season. Nico only beat Lewis through ruthlessness, a bit like Schumacher did on several occasions against his opponents. Ocon was credible at Force India but not outstanding. He had a few of good races but was beaten by Perez in the season overall. Three 1 2s this season so far, keep this up, why rock the boat? I think Ocon will need to demonstrate his worth in another team, then the question is, which team? Williams? not on the current team performance. Hard one.

 

I do wonder if Ocon is/was the backup plan if Bottas had not got his head together this year.
I think that the top teams like a number 1 driver and a no 2. That way they are not fighting themselves but have a greater chance of both championships.
Ferrari do seem to have deviated from their historic behavior this year in having a very young driver join the team. I am not sure how well that is going to work out. If Vettel is getting consistently beaten by a driver paid about a tenth of his salary then, if I were on the board I would be questioning Vettel's value.

 

Bottas thinks that he was at a disadvantage with the double stack.... and that he should have continued for more laps of go to the end...my feeling is if he had gone on much longer or to the end he wouldn't have made the podium at all. A clean double stack was the right move by Mercedes. There would have had to be something really dramatic for Bottas to have a shot at winning. Lewis pretty much had the race under control from the start. He was able to build a good lead on Bottas and maintain it. He was also questioning about turning down the engine..so he must have had more in the tank.

 

Nico only beat Lewis through ruthlessness??? Ruthlessness by whom, the Mercedes team? Really? That's hilarious!!!! So what about the all the engine problems etc. Lewis had with the car? There was only one instance of ruthlessness, if you can call it that, that was when Nico ran his car down the escape road in the second run of Q3, before Lewis could get his lap in.
I not only feel Ocon will beat Bottas, but I also rate him higher than Max and LeClerc. I wish Mercedes had given Ricciardo the seat alongside Lewis, that would have made F1 really exciting.

 

he definitely lost a bit of time by it, as he'd arrived before Lewis had left, but I doubt it would've made much difference to the result, the point I was making is that Bottas is pretty much on pace, doing enough to keep his position whilst staying out of the wake of the car in front. Reliability could be a big factor.

 

I agree, he is on pace so far, but Bottas has this tendency to lose concentration in some races. Hope he keeps up the pressure, because Ferrari seems to be dropping the ball.

 

There were some nasty overtake attempts too. OK, debatable who was to blame. My main point tho was that Lewis is hard to beat, whether reliability is the issue or a scruffy overtake that enables a teammate to beat him. Right now, i don't think it is a given that Bottas is under performing.

 

So does Lewis ( and others ) . More than once I have thought " His heads gone , he's not interested anymore " then BAM off he goes and mullers everyone , it's like he needs to have to struggle .

My point is , losing concentration is not unique to Valtteri , what will be the true test IMHO is , IF his head drops , will he be able to dust himself down and go again ?

 

Am I right in saying Seb has a contract with Ferrari until 2020?

Personally I think he might walk away either end of this year or end of 2020.

He has been in F1 over a decade, has a family to think about and 4 World Titles.

I suspect he is aiming for one huge push for number 5 and his first in Ferrari Red. Win or lose I think he will likely walk away in 2020, unless this year is a complete disaster.

Ferrari have work to do with downforce if they are to consistently challenge Merc.

With LeClerc and Verstappen coming through, it might suddenly feel like time to hang them up- but let’s see, I’m very much getting ahead of myself but there’s just a look in Vettels eye that says his heart isn’t quite in it like that youthful, excited driver that burst onto the scene.

 

Something is up at Ferrari. They've had three very different situations in three races now and they've favoured Vettel each time. Is it lack of faith in Leclerc or something we're simply not supposed to know of.

 

Possibly honouring a #1 clause

 

You'd think there would be some sort of clause clause to stop it being of detriment to the team. Fair enough in 50/50s but otherwise...

 

It is noted that when Lewis has a bad day he comes back really strong...like last weekend. Rosberg said he will be nowhere in qualifying and the race...and what did he do? The problem with Bottas is that he carries his head low way too long. It takes him too long to get over disappointment. That's what I see so far.

 

I do agree with you . When Valtteri has a really bad day at the office , will he bounce back quickly .

Time will tell .

 

He was dire in Bahrain, then in the grand scheme of things pretty good in China, Hamilton just did his thing and nipped it away. This year so far we've had great, dire, very good. What's next.

 

I think Bottas mistake was to let Hamilton bounce back and get ahead on points. He was so despondent in the cool down road after last race, it was as if he had just taken part in the ice bucket challenge. He looked really lost and uncomfortable while the others were chatting away. I saw Lewis went over to him a few times but he seemed really dejected. Ok, I believe a true champion shouldn't be happy with 2nd place, but the more depress you are the harder it is to bounce back.

 

Always hard to tell, few can sulk as well as Hamilton sulks, he would be chirpier if you ran over his dog than he is after a poor race. Yet next race he nearly always comes back and obliterates them all.