F1: 2020 British Grand Prix

FLRacingFan

FLRacingFan

Team Owner
Joined
Feb 9, 2013
Messages
39,791
Points
1,033
Location
Florida
EeNtjJrXgAAAf4w


Ed70ARMXkAAy50Q
 
After reading the text, it looks like a weird session. The red flag turned the results inside out. At least Hulk got up to seventh, first time in an F1 car for, what? Two years? I suspect he might just move up with some more seat time. They will probably run the crap out of that car to get him up to speed, and he's already halfway there.

Verstappen and Vettel both had bad sessions, but I suspect they will get better next session. Apparently Grosjean can't stay out of anyone's way, only this time the victim was Max. In more Haas news, Magnussen sucks too.

Vettel was 18th, and with a full 24 laps on the board. You'de figure that would be plenty of time to move up the board unless he has some problems. That's about the same as most of the others, so what's up there and why did he do so poorly when his teammate was fourth? No explanation in the article.

Maybe we can't make any conclusions because it was an interrupted session. I expect things will be more normal in FP3.
 
Albon is struggling mightily. Guy keeps crashing non stop.

Max meanwhile is plain too slow.
 
Reck said:
Albon is struggling mightily. Guy keeps crashing non stop.

Max meanwhile is plain too slow.
Click to expand...

To be fair, Max got held up by Grosjean when he was going for a time. Albon was still second quick, but no one else had a chance to respond due to the yellow. So with those two we just don't know yet. If Red Bull isn't competitive it will be the first time since 2014, and even then they won three races. If they can't get in the fight that could be the biggest surprise of the sesason.

Hamilton didn't get an opportunity and we don't know what the hell was wrong with Vettel. I think maybe the session is a waste for drawing too many conclusions.

One thing we can be sure of is Racing Point is much better, that is, if their car ends up being declared legal.
 
What a joke.

Quali used to be fun to watch. Now Mercedes have ruined even that.

Winning polls by seconds going back to third place. Horrible
 
About all I hoped for this weekend was for Vettel and Hulkenberg to have good races, but neither is off to a great start.
 
Reck said:
Not really representative. He got his second set time erased for going off track limits.

I still get your point. Vettel seems like he is due for retirement.
Click to expand...
Intercooler problem in one practice and then brake problems in the other two practices. Never had a full practice to get into a rhythm this weekend. And yeah he lost the lap at Copse I think.

Even Leclerc said the car this weekend has good one-lap pace but is undrivable on long runs. They compromised downforce for drag reduction this weekend it seems. Vettel starting on softs is going to be a ****show.

Rest of the field behind Mercedes should be interesting though, doesn’t seem like anyone else has a consistent car this weekend. The W11, meanwhile, will go down as the GOAT.
 
Reck said:
Vettel seems like he is due for retirement.
Click to expand...

Ferrari has a history of treating their #2 like crap. No one is saying it, but Vettel is certainly their #2, and the results are bearing that out. They don't want him and you can't produce in that kind of environment. Vettel is too young to be past it, so I think he's more than overdue to get the hell away from Ferrari and go somewhere the team can get behind him. Racing point might be that team, that is, if he can get in there.

The driver market is crazy right now and Hulk popping up just throws gas into the fire. Chico's seat is in limbo, Vettel may have nowhere to go, and Kimi has got to be about fed up with starting on the last row. Most of the field is set, but I can't remember the last time two world champions looked like they might not make it back.

Mercedes laid a beatdown on everyone and I don't see this getting any better. Coming on the back of the smackdown Hamilton put on them in Hungary, I think Merc doesn't have much to worry about, and Hamilton's only worry would be Botas. Occasionally Botas can handle Hamilton, but not nearly enough to beat him over a season. Looking back a few years, all of this makes Nico look a bit underrated.

McLaren looks very good, but now they have to worry about Racing Point. Norris is clearly the next superstar, but they have to get the car right so they can take advantage of Honda horsepower next year. Norris and Ricciardo and Norris together next year might be the most fun pairing in the series.

Red Bull is still excellent, but they are a full second adrift. Honda says it's working on more power, but where are they going to find a full second? Verstappen talks like he's resigned himself that at least for now, they have nothing for Mercedes. I don't know what the hell is going on with Albon, but Helmet Marko is starting to talk some smack. That Red Bull driver program is savage. Produce or die.

The good news is that positions 4-7 are filled by the new guard, assuming you consider Verstappen part of the establishment. There is really good talent scraping round in the mid field, which has had the best action all year. Eventually these guys will end up in good cars and be the front runners. This doesn't include Albon and Russell, but no doubt they will be in there too.
 
Hulkenberg might actually be cursed.

He won’t start the race because the car glitches out and wouldn't start.
 
Ferrari can’t even catch a Renault. Damn
 
Reck said:
Ferrari can’t even catch a Renault. Damn
Click to expand...
You should watch the onboard comparison of Leclerc's qualifying laps at Austria between this year and last. Top speed down between 15-20 KPH on the longer straights there. The aero is different of course but the PU itself is so much worse.
 
This “race” has been the absolute worst race I have ever seen across any racing series ever. Wow I mean what is this
 
Reck said:
This “race” has been the absolute worst race I have ever seen across any racing series ever. Wow I mean what is this
Click to expand...
That Sochi race with literally 0 passes a few years ago was worse.

Grosjean is gonna get himself penalized for insane blocking and finishing second from last among classified cars anyways. Need to move on from this dude.
 
Holy ****.

This race came undone in the last 2 laps. They said they will use soft tire compounds next week. Change of plans!
 
Reck said:
Holy ****.

This race came undone in the last 2 laps. They said they will use soft tire compounds next week. Change of plans!
Click to expand...
And higher temps. Jeez.

I wonder what Max's tires were like before that stop.
 
Reck said:
This “race” has been the absolute worst race I have ever seen across any racing series ever. Wow I mean what is this
Click to expand...

Could be worse......could be at Paul Richard. Glad I read this though. I'll watch the recording during my afternoon nap.

Fell asleep watching qualifying last night, but woke up when the commentators were screaming about Hamilton's tire. Not being fully awake I didn't know it was the last lap, so that was kind of exciting. I guess I saw as much of the race as I need to!

I guess this race was a throw away for me. All I cared about was Vettel and Hulk having good races and they didn't.

From what I read here, Hulk couldn't even get the car started. That's the worst possible luck at the worst possible time. A good drive could have put him back in the driver market, but now who knows? At least Hulk will have some time to recover, train and prepared for the next race, so hopefully he can get a great result.

Vettel, though, the guy didn't go from 4 time champ to hopeless scrub overnight. It doesn't make sense that Leclerc is so fast and now Vettel sucks. They were reasonably matched on speed last year, so it's got to be in the car. I don't think Ferrari is deliberately sabotaging him, but Vettel is a hell of a lot better than this. Why would he even bother to finish the season? The team just doesn't care about him, and at these speeds I want the guys tightening my wheels to care. Vettel has to get out of there before it burns his legacy. No one wants to go out like Vettel seems set for. Next is the 1000th GP and it's in Italy. Imagine the pressure that will be on both drivers.

I guess we are more back to normalcy. Both races in Austria were all action start to finish, and I thought we were going to have a great year.
Doesn't look so good now, but I'm going to stay hopeful.

No one forget...…….. IMSA is at Noon.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Jesus. At what point does Gene throw his hands up and dip?
Click to expand...

If Hass does continue next year, he needs to be talking to Hulkenberg and Vettel now. He's going nowhere with the current lineup.

Can you imagine what a Vettel/Hulk lineup could do for that team?
 
donthaveanickname said:
Not really. Hülkenberg might be an upgrade over Grosjean but even Hamilton couldn't score points in that car.
Click to expand...

Hamilton wouldn't be wrecking every week like the current clowns. Hulk seems to stay out of stupid accidents, which would be a big improvement for Haas.

I do have to say that considering how many dirty tricks Magnussen has pulled the last few years, it was extremely satisfying to see him get punted off.
 
Red Bull throws a win away, although I do understand why they pitted Max.

Speaking of HAAS, Checo and Mick is my prediction for next year's drivers lineup. Checo brings good sponsorship from down south and HAAS gets an American driver. Promoting Mick is a no brainer from a PR standpoint and both HAAS and Ferrari need some "good" news lately.
 
Tim_Richmond_Fan said:
Red Bull throws a win away, although I do understand why they pitted Max.
Click to expand...

One might think so but thinking about it more, who's to say he wouldn't have blown a tire as well? He said his tires weren't looking good 10 laps from the finish.

Next week's race could be interesting if they throw a couple of pit stops for precautions. I'm willing to bet they won't be fixing the tire issues in less than a week so I expect multiple pit stops which would be entertaining at least.
 
If you count the cool off, Hamilton did two full laps on a popped balloon!

Next is, I believe, Mugello, which I think will be a good one. It's the 1000th GP, and it's in Italy. The pressure on the Ferrari drivers is going to be mind bending.
 
Vettel has got to be pretty cheesed off and feeling mighty unloved. The atmosphere in the team has to be suffocating. Ever been trapped somewhere you weren't wanted? At this point I wouldn't give a damm about my legacy. I'de just tell them to stuff it like Lauda did to them

Niki Lauda just walked away from Ferrari, but he did it on his own terms. He told them he was going to Brabham, smoked his more favored teammate (Carlos Reutemann), won the championship in their marginal car and then told Ferrari he had gastritis and couldn't finish the season. He essentially told them he had to take a sh*t and would not be back! Talk about an epic mic drop! That's the way the champ goes out. There's never going to be another Lauda.....never.

Later, Lauda also stepped out of the Brabham Alfa not only mid season, but mid weekend. This time he was fine with the team, but had just had enough.

Sadly the Ferrari is so bad now that Vettel stands no chance, but you'de think he could at least take the fight to his teammate. I'm a bit disappointed he seems to be just going through the motions, but I don't blame him. We've all seen this sort of thing happen at Ferrari over and over. It's always fun when Ferrari collapses into Italian hysteria, but I think Vettel is too classy to buy into it. He's going to do his job quietly, though probably not very competitively, say nice things about everyone, and then be on his way ..... to wherever that may be.

I don't believe Ferrari is deliberately sabotaging Vettel's chances, but the Ferrari drivers were pretty closely matched just last year, and now Vettel is completely out of the mix. At least Leclerc is somewhere close to best of the rest, but Vettel may as well be sunning on the Riviera.
 
Ferrari had the most trimmed-out rear wing this last weekend because of their power deficit. Vettel having all three practices interrupted with mechanical issues, starting on softs, and running mid-pack with low grip couldn’t have been comfortable at all to drive. Hopefully he has more running time this Friday than last and can qualify further up the grid. He had a good lap going in Q3 and lost it to track limits.
 


British GP viewership

2020 - 736K (ESPN)
2019 - 591K (ESPN2)
2018 - 620K (ESPN)
2017 - 452K (CNBC)
2016 - 322K (CNBC)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom