Formula 1 2019

[PaulRhB]

1 hour ago, Pete the Elaner said:

As long as it only costs them time without making them lose control. Unfortunately losing grip on one side only will increase the chance of a spin & is therefore adding additional danger.

No more so than putting a wheel in gravel or grass and as long as the run off is big enough and maybe a set escape road to rejoin on each corner so it avoids the Vettel vision problem. 

[Hobby]

2 hours ago, PaulRhB said:

Not sure about that considering the number of youtube channels dedicated to crashes!

 

 

Agree with that, it's long been the case as well... I remember the night at White City, Manchester when Brian Wallace lost his life, at the next meeting the crowd numbers were up...

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

The evidence on the track limits question suggests to me that the rule is fine as it stands, and would remain fine however it was defined with respect to the white line. The problem is one of consistent enforcement.

15 hours ago, RJS1977 said:

Very few F1 drivers go on to be World Champion (there have only been 7 different World Champions in the last 19 seasons). At best, the also-rans pick up a handful of victories in a 15-20 year career. At worst, within a few years they're in Formula E, or out of motorsport entirely.

This is a very interesting aspect of F1. Clearly it's a big step up from the lower formulae, and quickly identifies who has the skill and growth potential, which combined with good enough equipment will lead to winning. Consider that the filtering through the lower formulae has already acted on the set of candidates, so it's a fairly unusual person who can get to the front in F1 and stay there with some regularity. These drivers are usually quite quickly evident from entry to F1, of whom Leclerc is the latest current 'proven' example.

 

The converse is also likely true. If someone cared to run the analysis, I would expect to see a reliable set of predictors for whether 'the gift' is truly present, and my guess is that this would only require two seasons of race data. If the driver hasn't attained to the predictive criteria in that time, ditch him and try someone new would be the optimum game strategy for a better driver: if driver capability alone were the question.

[PaulRhB]

And explain on that data plus the antics of the drivers and team managers rants why Haas are sticking with the same lineup for 2020?!  

[Oldddudders]

5 minutes ago, PaulRhB said:

And explain on that data plus the antics of the drivers and team managers rants why Haas are sticking with the same lineup for 2020?!  

As Andy P said, it is a puzzle. Steiner has had to bang heads together race after race. Yet he keeps the devils he knows. Perhaps the Hulk is too expensive, or not seen as their sort of team player, i.e. one who takes off his mate at a moment's notice!

[Richard E]

And Kubica is stepping down. Hardly surprised, could it open up a seat for Hulkenberg?

[PaulRhB]

That might not be the drop it seems for Hulk with the work they’re doing, let’s hope they can get a decent engine out of Merc and keep moving forward as Russell seems to be doing well with helping development. 

[PaulRhB]

54 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

 or not seen as their sort of team player, i.e. one who takes off his mate at a moment's notice!

Now there’s a thought, have Liberty quietly contracted Haas as the comedy slapstick baddies taking inspiration from wrestling? 

[Andrew P]

1 hour ago, Oldddudders said:

As Andy P said, it is a puzzle. Steiner has had to bang heads together race after race. Yet he keeps the devils he knows. Perhaps the Hulk is too expensive, or not seen as their sort of team player, i.e. one who takes off his mate at a moment's notice!

And at least RG and KM have been up on the podium.

[Andrew P]

Danny R now starting from the back after being excluded from Quali results.

https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/27668283/ricciardo-excluded-qualifying-car-breach

[micklner]

Whoops !!

[PhilH]

Quite interesting different listening to the race on the radio without seeing it...noone seems to be talking about who's doing what out on the track, it's all about who could, should, is going to, do about the pit stops.

 

Doesn't do a lot for an uncommitted casual listener...

Edited September 22, 2019 by PhilH

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, PhilH said:

Quite interesting different listening to the race on the radio without seeing it...noone seems to be talking about who's doing what out on the track, it's all about who could, should, is going to, do about the pit stops.

 

Doesn't do a lot for an uncommitted casual listener...

Watching wasn't much better. Apart from the usual clownish stuff down the field it was a yawn. 

[MarkC]

Well, that was <interesting>. Appalling strategy from Mercedes, but how about the Vettel undercut on Leclerc at the pit stop? Leclerc has every reason to be annoyed about that.

[Pete the Elaner]

Just now, MarkC said:

Appalling strategy from Mercedes, but how about the Vettel undercut on Leclerc at the pit stop? Leclerc has every reason to be annoyed about that.

That is easy to say with hindsight. The tactics were more interesting than the racing.

 

Ferrari turned a 1-3 into a 1-2 by not prioritising their lead driver (Leclerc). If they had pitted him first, then Hamilton would have pitted the following lap with Vettel & they would have stayed Leclerc-Hamilton-Vettel. The team may have been surprised that Vettel undercut both places.

Whether Ferrari actually prioritised Vettel or did the best for their team is another debate.

After Vettel pitted, Mercedes really had to hope their better tyre wear would play into their hands (This is always a little unknown & it turned out that the Ferraris had good pace at the end). Did they lose a further place by trying this or would Hamilton have fallen behind Verstappen anyway?

The 3 safety cars helped the Ferraris but they always throw in a bit of a random element & every Singapore GP has had at least 1.. If one had been put out 5 laps after the Ferraris pitted, Mercedes would have been in a great position.

Did anyone have the data to know at what point worn soft tyres become slower than fresh hard ones?

 

Ferrari simply had the stronger position with their cars 1 & 3 in the first phase, & they made the most of it.

[EddieB]

That new German kid in the red car could have a bright future!

 

Actually, hard to tell if it was a good race from the edited highlights - though a bottle of Tiger Beer helped...

[New Haven Neil]

A reminder to LeClerke as to whom the number 1 driver is?

 

Annnnddd, Grosjohn.  #sigh#

[Oldddudders]

When Lewis's pitstop was deferred it was pitiful to see how he wasn't romping away. Indeed, Giovinazzi was catching him, lap after lap! Not having seen post-race excuses, I don't known how Mercedes explained this, but if I could watch the gaps on public tv, why couldn't they?

[Gareth Collier]

A bit of a borefest with any chance of tyre strategy working ruined buy multiple safety cars. Without them LH would have been on far fresher rubber towards the end but the constant interruptions meant the front three's tyre's had regular rests and easily held out.

[Pete the Elaner]

2 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

When Lewis's pitstop was deferred it was pitiful to see how he wasn't romping away. Indeed, Giovinazzi was catching him, lap after lap! Not having seen post-race excuses, I don't known how Mercedes explained this, but if I could watch the gaps on public tv, why couldn't they?

Once Vettel pitted, he undercut Hamilton so pitting the following lap (in then back out again after Leclerc) would have put him back out in 3rd at best, maybe 4th behind Verstappen.

Mercedes could have tried to undercut Ferrari but if they pitted Hamilton too early, would fresh hard tyres have been faster than worn soft ones & would these have been ok until the end of the race?

They were also missing data from due to Bottas' crash in practice.

They also believed that the hard tyres would not see Ferrari to the end of the race (we heard this from radio messages), so the extra few laps would ensure Mercedes only needed to stop once.

Pitting under a safety car is always beneficial & safety cars are common but unpredictable in Singapore, so this always weighs in favour of delaying a pit stop until if/when it happens. If a SC has been deployed immediately after the Ferraris had pitted, Mercedes would have used this to pop Hamilton out in the lead.

[Hobby]

Another race decided on the safety cars, then, I don't think I will waste my time watching the highlights...

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

The most interesting aspect was Vettel suddenly getting his mojo back. If securely out front in the best car he can still do it then. Little doubt that the Ferrari was the better car on that circuit, shame from a competitiveness viewpoint that it has taken Ferrari two thirds of the season to get to this point. (Technical error by Ferrari of course putting Vettel ahead, Leclerc's only real chance of more wins and a distant shot at the title ahead of Hamilton blown right there...)

 

Good to see Albon and Norris making the best of their respective drives. At this rate of progress Albon should be giving Bottas bother in the final races of the season.

[Oldddudders]

26 minutes ago, Hobby said:

Another race decided on the safety cars, then, I don't think I will waste my time watching the highlights...

The SCs had no influence on the order near the front. After every leading car had pitted the die was cast. The problem is that the prevalence of SCs in every GP on this Mickey-mouse track means teams try to factor one in to their planning. In this case the three SCs were all later in the race, and had little effect except to close people up. 

 

The Red Bulls were struggling for speed - Max had Lewis on his tail near the end and pleaded for more power, which was not available, said the team. On this showing, Bottas, who was having a better day than some this year, can keep Albon behind.

[Hobby]

Looking at the results all the finishing cars were quite close to each other... I can't be bothered watching a race where SCs and pit strategy takes precedence over the actual racing. As far as I am concerned it's a car race. I may be a bit old fashioned though!

[PhilJ W]

I'm wondering where Ferrari's sudden improvement in form has come from. No doubt the scrutineers are thinking the same.