F1 - 2018 discussion

I think now that we've seen such a massive unfair advantage in the VSC pit stopping something has to be done about it. Still feel Hamilton's pace overall was quicker than the Ferrari's, likewise above Bottas will be out of a seat next year I can't help but feel. I always felt he was there not just because he was a good driver but he wouldn't cause Hamilton any issues either.


Bottas won three Grand Prix last season and finished 100 points clear of Raikonen in 4th place, so I think a championship 3rd place is not too shabby when you are up against Vettel and Hamilton.
 
2018 FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX

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Bahrain International Circuit
Lap data
Lap length 5.412km (3.363 miles)
Race laps 57
Race distance 308.238km (191.53 miles)
Pole position Left-hand side of the track
Lap record* 1’31.447 (Pedro de la Rosa, 2005)
Fastest lap 1’29.527 (Mark Webber, 2005, fourth practice)
Maximum speed 321kph (199.46 mph)
DRS zone/s (race)
Distance from grid to turn one 265m
Full throttle 66%
Longest flat-out section 1205m
Downforce level Medium
Fuel use per lap 1.7kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel 0.054s

UK Times
Friday 6th April 2018
Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice 1: 14:00-15:30 (UK time: 12:00-13:30)
Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice 2: 18:00-19:30 (UK time: 16:00-17:30)
Saturday 7th April 2018
Bahrain Grand Prix Free Practice 3: 15:00-16:00 (UK time: 13:00-14:00)
Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying: 18:00 (UK time: 16:00)
Sunday 8th April 2018
Bahrain Grand Prix: 18:10 (UK time: 16:10)

Previous Winners
2017 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari
2016 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2015 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2014 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2013 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2012 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2011 Cancelled
2010 Spain Fernando Alonso Ferrari
2009 United Kingdom Jenson Button Brawn-Mercedes
2008 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari
2007 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari
2006 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault
2005 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault
2004 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari

Videos

Bottas 2017 on board
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSCePwWSLSY


Alonso 2010 on board
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKpGP6S-tXw


Facts from the last race
Sebastian Vettel drew first blood in the grudge match between him and Lewis Hamilton as both bid to become Formula One’s third five-time world champion.

The Ferrari driver scored his 48th career victory and also made his 100th appearance on the podium. As Vettel is one race shy of his 200th start, that means he’s finished on the rostrum in more than half the races he’s started (and he’s had a few confiscated as well, at the Hockenheimring in 2012 and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in 2016). For Ferrari it was their 950th race and 230th victory.

After leading the opening 18 laps of the race Hamilton had to settle for second place. However he did notch up the 73rd pole position of his career.

He already has five more poles than the previous all-time record holder Michael Schumacher, so how high will this record stand to be after another 20 races? Ominously for his rivals, Hamilton’s 0.664s advantage on Saturday was greater than he enjoyed in most of his 11 poles last season, the only exception being at Monza where it rained.

That weekend was also where Vettel lost the championship lead to Hamilton last year. Vettel is back on top of the points again and Ferrari are ahead in the constructors’ for the first time since Monaco last year.

The race marked the fifth anniversary of Kimi Raikkonen’s last F1 win. He made his 22nd podium appearance since that date, further increasing his record for most consecutive podium finishes without a win. Hamilton, meanwhile, is now just one race shy of matching Raikkonen’s record of scoring points in 27 consecutive races.

Raikkonen was the more convincing of the two Ferrari drivers for much of the weekend. He out-qualified Vettel (something he only managed four times last year) and was quicker in the first stint. Only in the final stint on soft tyres did he seem to lose that edge, which could have been down to the fact he ran the longest stint at the end.

Between them Hamilton, Vettel and Raikkonen have nine world championship titles. This is the most titles held by the occupants of a podium with one exception, the 2012 European Grand Prix, where the top three had 10 between them: Alonso (two), Schumacher (seven) and Raikkonen (one).

Daniel Ricciardo had to settle for fourth place, meaning he has still not scored a legitimate podium at his home race: He stood on the rostrum in 2014 but was later disqualified on a technicality. As a consolation he took the fastest lap, the 10th of his career, giving him as many as champions Graham Hill, John Surtees and Mario Andretti.

Fifth place for Fernando Alonso and ninth for Stoffel Vandoorne meant that McLaren, in their first race with new engine supplier Renault, matched the best individual and joint results they achieved in three seasons with Honda. They took fifth and ninth in Hungary 2015, Monaco 2016 and America 2016. It was also the first time McLaren scored points in a season-opening race since the last time they didn’t have Honda engines, when Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button were second and third in 2014.

Valtteri Bottas gained the most places of any driver in the race, moving up seven spots on his way to eighth place following his crash in qualifying. Renault made good on their pre-season aim of scoring points with both cars at every race as both Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz Jnr finished in the top 10.

However 11th and 12th for Force India meant this was the first time in 14 races they failed to score a point. There was no joy for Marcus Ericsson either, who is now one race away from going 50 in a row without scoring.


Drivers’ Chosen Tyres
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Championship Standings
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I just read that there were 5 on-track overtakes after the first lap in the last race.

There were 366 in the only IndyCar race of the season so far.

Something is seriously wrong.
 
I just read that there were 5 on-track overtakes after the first lap in the last race.

There were 366 in the only IndyCar race of the season so far.

Something is seriously wrong.
That needs a little clarification though.
A lot of those overtakes were when a car spun (on it's own or with help) and the rest of the field goes past, so 20'ish overtakes in one spin, and with over a 5th of the race run under caution how many overtakes took place in the pits.
They also do not allow tyre warmers so that would promote being overtaken until the tyres are up to temp.

Take a look at the video on https://wtf1.com/post/there-were-a-...-during-the-first-indycar-race-of-the-season/

I agree that F1 can learn from Indycar as they changed their regs to lower downforce to promote overtaking and allow close following.
Although I don't think making the cars slower is the right way to go, changing the type of downforce to more under floor/skirts may be better.
 
I just read that there were 5 on-track overtakes after the first lap in the last race.

There were 366 in the only IndyCar race of the season so far.
I didn't watch St Petersburg this year but normally it's a snooze fest. 366 is the sort of number I'd expect to see in NASCAR at an oval.
 
The second BTCC race was nuts (even by BTCC standards...)
 
Well done race winner Vettel :cool:

He did well to hold onto that. I would have wagered that Bottas would have passed him easily, I'm not a LH fan, but if he'd have been in Bottas' position I'm sure he would have won.
 
Best race in a long time, loads of great overtaking, brave race strategy by Vettel, and well done to Bottas and Hamilton.
Man of the race - Gasly by a long way.
 
Great race for a change.

Feel for the Ferrari mechanic. Seen a couple of slo mos looks very very nasty
 
Seb getting vociferous over the "dick head" comment by Lewis.

Sebastian Vettel launched a strong defence of Formula 1 rival Lewis Hamilton over comments the Mercedes driver made about Max Verstappen straight after the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Hamilton was heard calling Verstappen "a d******d" in the F1 drivers' room before the podium ceremony, prompting questions about it in the post-race press conference.

But when Hamilton was asked about what he said, race winner Vettel interjected and expressed sympathy for his rival.

"Can I answer that?" Vettel said. "It's not fair - I don't know what Lewis did, we've all been in that situation.

"We fight someone and sometimes we go wheel-to-wheel, and it's close, and we have a lot of adrenaline going.

"Do you think, if you compare it to football, if you have a microphone on a footballer's mouth that everything he says is something nice, and it's a nice message when the guy tackles him and sometimes he fouls him?

"I don't think it's justified to give us this kind of s*** question and making up a story out of nothing."

More at:
https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/135274/vettel-defends-hamilton-verstappen-remark
 
Seb getting vociferous over the "dick head" comment by Lewis.
Rock on Seb I say :) - Verstappen is, in my view, a spoiled brat with a far too highly developed sense of entitlement, he got his just rewards for his manouver. Should be an interesting season :)
 
He did well to hold onto that. I would have wagered that Bottas would have passed him easily, I'm not a LH fan, but if he'd have been in Bottas' position I'm sure he would have won.
Where valtri waits for a chance to pass Lewis tends to force the issue Would Lewis have passed seb, thats questionable aero is still aero, worn out tyres or not
I liked the way Hass removed grojean from the inter team clash
I bet mclarean are smarting. Even alsonso with the reno couldnt crack Gasly with the HONDA , dont you just love the under dog coming out on top
 
2018 FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN CHINESE GRAND PRIX

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Shanghai International Circuit
Lap data
Lap length 5.412km (3.363 miles)
Race laps 57
Race distance 308.238km (191.53 miles)
Pole position Left-hand side of the track
Lap record* 1’31.447 (Pedro de la Rosa, 2005)
Fastest lap 1’29.527 (Mark Webber, 2005, fourth practice)
Maximum speed 321kph (199.46 mph)
DRS zone/s (race)
Distance from grid to turn one 265m
Full throttle 66%
Longest flat-out section 1205m
Downforce level Medium
Fuel use per lap 1.7kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel 0.054s

UK Times
Friday 13th April 2018
Chinese Grand Prix Free Practice 1: 10:00-11:30 (UK time: 3:00-4:30)
Chinese Grand Prix Free Practice 2: 14:00-15:30 (UK time: 7:00-8:30)
Saturday 14th April 2018
Chinese Grand Prix Free Practice 3: 11:00-12:00 (UK time: 4:00-5:00)
Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying: 14:00 (UK time: 7:00)
Sunday 15th April 2018
Chinese Grand Prix: 14:10 (UK time: 7:10)

Previous Winners
2017 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2016 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2015 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2014 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes
2013 Spain Fernando Alonso Ferrari
2012 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes
2011 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2010 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes
2009 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault
2008 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes
2007 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari
2006 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2005 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault
2004 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari

Videos

Hamilton 2017 on board
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx6BbFTNyy0


Alonso 2007 on board
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGiQZovL6-g


Facts from the last race
With 182 world championship race victories, McLaren has more F1 wins than any team bar Ferrari. However Bahrain marked their 100th race since the last time one of their drivers stood on the top step of the podium.

While the team blamed its struggles over the past three seasons on the shortcomings of its Honda power unit, those races only account for 60% of this win-less streak.

Jenson Button scored the team’s last win in the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix in a car powered by a Mercedes V8. Since then they started a further 38 races with Mercedes power (19 V8, 19 V6 hybrid turbo), 60 with Honda and two with Renault.

There was some consolation for McLaren in that at this early stage they are ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship and Fernando Alonso is fourth in the drivers’ points standings.

But it will not have gone unnoticed in Woking that the team’s cars were out-qualified by both Honda-powered Toro Rossos on Saturday, and that Pierre Gasly came home fourth for the team on Sunday. Gasly’s first points finish equalled the best result Toro Rosso has scored since Sebastian Vettel’s victory for them at Monza in 2008.

That was the first of 49 wins for Vettel, the most recent of which came in a race which also marked his 200th career start.

Vettel is the 18th driver to reach a double century. The last to do so was Lewis Hamilton in Spa last year, who also won the race. Three other drivers scored wins in their 200th races: Michael Schumacher (2004 European Grand Prix), Button (2011 Hungarian Grand Prix) and Nico Rosberg (2016 Singapore Grand Prix).

By winning the first two races of 2018 Vettel has gone one better than he did last year, when he took a win and a second place. This bodes well for his championship chances: The last time a driver won the first two races of a season but didn’t win the championship was 36 years ago, when Alain Prost’s Renault proved too unreliable for take him to the 1982 crown.

Hamilton survived a controversial clash with Max Verstappen to score points for the 27th race in a row. That equals the record held by Kimi Raikkonen, which Hamilton could break in Shanghai this weekend.

While Hamilton sustained his streak of scoring points, Marcus Ericsson will be relieved to end his point-less run. He came home ninth in Bahrain, which would otherwise have been his 50th consecutive race without a point.

Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap of the race for the fourth time in his career, which means he now has as many as Sergio Perez, as well as Jean Alesi, Jo Siffert, Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Patrick Depailler.


Drivers’ Chosen Tyres
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Championship Standings
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Not to be pedantic but the times are for the Bahrain Grand Prix not Chinese, quali is at 07:00 and race is 07:10
 
You're right.
Fixed.

I must have missed that bit out. It's a lot of stuff to look up! :)
 
I enjoyed that! A hell of a lot more than a certain German did!!! I even enjoyed seeing Alonso make that pass. Good way to thank your mechanics IMO.
 
That was good!
Daniel Ricciardo right on it, and I am glad Bottas got a well deserved 2nd.
 
Dont get carried away with red bulls DR's sudden appearance as a top contender
But the wider issue is that the Australian is now on his second internal combustion engine, turbo and both hybrid recovery units and he is only allowed three for the season. In addition to already being on his second of two permitted energy stores after the failure that caused his retirement from the race in Bahrain.
We are on race 3
 
Was a good race, certainly, though once again decided by the intervention of a safety car (not a virtual one this time) at a specific point that benefited some drivers over others.

Far less people complaining about it this time though.
 
Think Lewis may be a bit upset with the decision making in his side if the garage, he had a very good shot at winning that if they'd had the guts to pit him when the safety car came out, Bottas was past the pits so was stuffed.
Well done to DR though, didn't hang about getting past everyone. Max will rue that attempt round the outside of Lewis, if he'd been a little more patient he may have taken the win.
 
Think Lewis may be a bit upset with the decision making in his side if the garage, he had a very good shot at winning that if they'd had the guts to pit him when the safety car came out, Bottas was past the pits so was stuffed.
Well done to DR though, didn't hang about getting past everyone. Max will rue that attempt round the outside of Lewis, if he'd been a little more patient he may have taken the win.
I think it was the Vettel pass that stuffed Max.
 
I think it was the Vettel pass that stuffed Max.
Ultimately yes, but if he hadn't gone off when trying to take Lewis on the outside he would he would have been the lead RB car.
Just needs to use a little more patience.
 
Ultimately yes, but if he hadn't gone off when trying to take Lewis on the outside he would he would have been the lead RB car.
Just needs to use a little more patience.
He does need more patience yes, i guess it"s a fine line between being patient, and lacking the killer instinct to make the pass. I think DR has got that sussed, he may not have the outright speed of Max, but i think his race craft is better at the moment, hence over a season there isn't going to be much in it. Probably similar to the Senna and Prost battles. I'm sure LH knew exactly what he was doing when he pushed Max off track, last season Max would have not moved over and they would have both been out.
 
It was a really good watch and its not often you can say that these days with F1.

Really pleased for DR, he seems such a "good guy" and as previous he seems to race fair and quick just worried his season is going to be ruined by the car.

Max does seem to have the ability just not the composure yet, will he ever? I do hope he doesn't become another could have been.
 
Was nice to enjoy a race weekend without any major grid penalties to interfere with the result.
 
It won't be long before max gets a slap from someone i reckon.
Good too see Alonso being able to overtake and fight a bit more
 
I reckon alonso will be a factory Renault driver again before he leaves, he’s practicing with their engines now but he will soon, sainz back to red bull with max, Danny ric probably in a Ferrari with Vettel and Ocon will take bottas’ seat to partner Lewis unless he retires and they keep bottas for continuity. McLaren will be stuck then, probably with Vandoorne and lando Norris or maybe grosjean/hulk can get a shot, who knows
 
2018 FORMULA 1 AZERBAIJAN GRAND PRIX

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Baku City Circuit
Lap data
Lap length 6.003km (3.73 miles)
Race laps 51
Race distance 306.051km (190.171 miles)
Distance from grid to turn one 330m
Full throttle 49%
Gear changes per lap 78
Fuel use per lap 1.96kg
Time penalty per lap of fuel 0.32s

UK Times
Friday 27th April 2018
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Free Practice 1: 13:00-14:30 (UK time: 10:00-11:30)
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Free Practice 2: 17:00-18:30 (UK time: 14:00-15:30)
Saturday 28th April 2018
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Free Practice 3: 14:00-15:00 (UK time: 11:00-12:00)
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying: 17:00 (UK time: 14:00)
Sunday 29th April 2018
Azerbaijan Grand Prix: 16:10 (UK time: 13:10)

Previous Winners
2017 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-TAG Heuer


Videos

Hamilton 2017 on board
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK1_Y9JU1Ow


2017 onboard race highlights
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl9zeIpw7aI


Facts from the last race
Before the Chinese Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton said he thought it would be difficult to finish higher than he started. Sure enough, he came home in the fourth place he started from, though he must have been relieved that Sebastian Vettel wasn’t one of the three cars ahead of him.

That fourth place gave Hamilton a new F1 record. It was his 28th consecutive points finish, moving him ahead of the previous record held by Kimi Raikkonen.

From the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix to the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix, Raikkonen came home in the top 10 every time for Lotus. Hamilton’s streak began at the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix and included all of last year’s races. Raikkonen’s run ended when a visor tear-off went into his brake duct and caused a failure: How much longer will Hamilton’s run go on without something as trivial as this bringing it to an end?

Raikkonen reached an unhappy milestone as it was the 100th race since he last won a round of the world championship. He has made 23 podium appearances since that last win, which is a record.

Daniel Ricciardo scored his sixth career victory, which moves him level with world championships John Surtees and Jochen Rindt plus Tony Brooks, Gilles Villeneuve, Jacques Laffite, Riccardo Patrese and Ralf Schumacher.

Ricciardo has scored all six of his wins from fourth on the grid or lower. That contrasts sharply with his former team mate Sebastian Vettel, who won 49 times but started within the top three places every time. Hamilton’s career record is similar to Vettel: 62 wins, of which just four have come from starts outside the top three.

Many of the statistics from China point towards Mercedes having a tougher time in 2018 than they have in any season since the V6 hybrid turbo era began in 2014. They have failed to win any of the last three races, which hasn’t happened since the end of 2013 (but it hasn’t stopped them taking the lead in the constructors’ championship). The W09 is the first car they have built which didn’t take pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix since the W02 of 2011.

The performance of Mercedes and Ferrari’s customer teams suggests the latter has produced a very strong engine this year, perhaps even a better one than Mercedes. Haas and Sauber both have more points after three races than Force India and Williams.

Meanwhile Ferrari had their first pole position in China since the venue held its first round of the world championship in 2004. They also had back-to-back front row lock-outs for the first time in more than a decade. You have to go back to Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in the 2006 United States and French Grands Prix for the last time this happened.

Raikkonen has qualified second for all of this year’s races so far but hasn’t been able to finish that high in any of them. To be fair to him, Ferrari’s strategy looked more geared to his team mate’s needs than his. Another driver on the grid has started every race so far from the same position: in fact, Nico Hulkenberg has started seventh for each of the last six races.

Three races in, every driver on the grid has out-qualified his team mate at least once, with two exceptions. Carlos Sainz Jnr is yet to put one over Hulkenberg, and Stoffel Vandoorne has started every race behind Fernando Alonso. Both are also yet to finish races in front of their team mates, a situation they will be feeling an urgent desire to put right.

Drivers’ Chosen Tyres
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Championship Standings
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