Russian GP

gnomesayin

gnomesayin

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Looked like Mercedes had everyone easily covered in qualifying. Verstappen has been able to stay out in the lead and bunch of everyone up a bit. Bottas was in front of Hamilton but just pulled over for him. So much for Bottas saying the goal was to win the race and so much for Wolff and Mercedes claiming they don't like team orders. Can Vettel get by Bottas as well, and make this interesting?

This GP is looking somewhat racier than the last couple.
 
Verstappen's tires finally giving up. Hamilton getting held up could make something interesting.
 
Well so much for that. Ferrari doesn't have the pace to challenge and nobody can actually follow anyone close enough to pass as usual.

Verstappen's pace on old tires was impressive. He is 25 seconds ahead of his teammate. Maybe this would be more fun if teams could elect not to pit at all.
 
This championship fight is over, Hamilton and Mercedes might win the rest of them this year. I’d say Ferrari had the better car up until about midway through the European part of the schedule but couldn’t finish off Mercedes and they beat themselves as well with numerous strategy and on track mistakes. Now Mercedes is back to being on another level. We will look back on this year as Vettel and Ferrari peeing down their leg. And Le Clerc coming next year, can’t wait for that.
 
gnomesayin said:
Well so much for that. Ferrari doesn't have the pace to challenge and nobody can actually follow anyone close enough to pass as usual.

Verstappen's pace on old tires was impressive. He is 25 seconds ahead of his teammate. Maybe this would be more fun if teams could elect not to pit at all.
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The only fun part of this race was watching Max start last and come up through the field. Gosh I wish we could switch him out for Bottas, make Lewis a little uncomfortable.
 
Can anyone explain Verstappen being slower on the softer tire? He isn't following anyone now that should be slowing him down. Is the dirty air of running anywhere but the lead that bad?
 
Mercedes tells Bottas to stay where he is and we'll talk about it after the race. What a joke, I do feel bad for him to some extent.
 
God F1 sucks. Here I am half-watching the recording and Valtteri just pulls over and almost stops on a straight to let Lewis by? Fruity. Too bad Wehrlein was let go and Ocon doesn't have anywhere to go because Mercedes need a good solider to be in the opposite car after they didn't like how Rosberg raced.
 
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lol the announcers are so biased. "Lewis Hamilton deserves the win anyway because he's done a great job all weekend." I think Bottas did a better job but got screwed by team orders.
 
My favorite race so far was Silverstone. I was happy to see Hamilton lose despite having the better car and driving at home. That should keep his ego in check.
 
I didn’t waste my time with this one. Figured Hamilton would win after I saw Bottas got the pole. Not worth my time to watch team orders come into play. Russia being a **** track didn’t help either
 
I'm disgusted and dissapointed.

I'm a Hamilton fan but this was ****** weak on his part. Dude had 40 points in the back and still felt like he needed to be bailed out? Gay

I kept hoping he would do the right thing and let him by the last lap (And they had the opportunity at the end) and dude comes on the radio and says no.

Overall though, I thought Hamilton had Vettel covered for second so I dont quite understand the switch. F1 needs to make these type of blatant moves illegal.
 
Reck said:
I'm disgusted and dissapointed.

I'm a Hamilton fan but this was ******* weak on his part. Dude had 40 points in the back and still felt like he needed to be bailed out? Gay

I kept hoping he would do the right thing and let him by the last lap (And they had the opportunity at the end) and dude comes on the radio and says no.

Overall though, I thought Hamilton had Vettel covered for second so I dont quite understand the switch. F1 needs to make these type of blatant moves illegal.
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I don't blame Lewis today. It was Toto's call and he admitted as much after the race.

Shameful nonetheless. Mercedes have largely put a damper on F1 since their entrance as a factory team.

Once Lewis clinches this thing up for good they better let Bottas win two or three. The paycheck must be nice but being the official bitchboy "wingman" (Toto's own words!) has to be incredibly demoralizing.
 
This GP always blows but for it to be compounded by pointless team orders is rough.
 
DUN24 said:
This GP always blows but for it to be compounded by pointless team orders is rough.
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I think it's actually been the worst race of the season each year since it joined the schedule. Impressively terrible track.
 
FLRacingFan said:
I think it's actually been the worst race of the season each year since it joined the schedule. Impressively terrible track.
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The tire situation needs to be iron out. They're making these tires way too durable. I thought Verstappen might actually win that race. If it wasn't for fuel he could have. Dude was putting faster laps on 40 old tires than people with 30+ younger ones. Ridiculous.
 
Reck said:
The tire situation needs to be iron out. They're making these tires way too durable. I thought Verstappen might actually win that race. If it wasn't for fuel he could have. Dude was putting faster laps on 40 old tires than people with 30+ younger ones. Ridiculous.
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It wasn't fuel. They carry enough fuel to run the whole race and don't refuel during. It's the rule requiring that two tire compounds be run during the race, which mandates a pit stop. Verstappen likely would have won the race if allowed to not pit. Which is totally ridiculous, but the problem is how impossible it is to follow anyone closely enough to make a move at most of these tracks.
 
I missed the race but I read about "team orders", I thought they ban team orders (I never thought they could enforce the rule anyway). It is a part of F1 I've never understood, the idea of a primary driver and a secondary driver. I'd seen a couple races where the leader pulled over to let a teammate by for the win - that's not racing.
 
F1 tried to ban team orders, or at least one teammate pulling over to let the other pass, in the '00s. They reverted back as it was hard to police. I am not sure what the current regulations state, but teams can usually hide behind the excuse that they are doing what is best for the team as a whole. In this case, Mercedes claimed that because Hamilton was vulnerable to a Vettel attack, they needed Bottas to act as a buffer. If they were more PR savvy, they would have ordered Bottas back around at the end with Vettel well behind and with Hamilton already having a large points lead.

It is a noxious and ugly practice. I'm sure it happens in other forms of racing that I don't watch, perhaps some sports and touring car stuff. It happens some in motorcycle racing. It certainly happens in cycling (bicycles) where there are large teams with a lead rider, and the other riders constantly take action to serve the anointed leader of the team.

This stuff is ingrained in the culture of F1. It was much worse historically, with secondary teammates literally giving their car to the primary driver during the race if needed. I don't know how they would realistically stop it completely. They can't fill a grid without two car teams. The best way to place highest in the drivers' and constructors' championships is to work collectively.
 
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