Motorsports Thread

[figbat]

Really, if fingers should be pointed, then they should be pointed in Alonso's direction, as it was his lock-up that triggered the concertina in the first place.

It's a bit rich for Ricciardo to throw a wobbly, given that he had the nose of his car under Oscar Piastri's gearbox at the time.

But I guess racing drivers don't adhere to the two second rule...

All drivers should be anticipating and responding to what’s actually happening, not what should be happening. DR was close to Piastri, but he judged it perfectly and didn’t hit him. Stroll then came ploughing through and buried his car under Danny’s - not just a light tap - whilst looking somewhere else. It’s a hairpin, and he’s under SC conditions. The hairpin was there every time he went around a lap, so wasn’t a surprise. Also it’s a SC restart so things get bunched up. Everyone else managed to work it out.

Take a look at Max’s reaction in the cooldown room.

 

[Jody]

DR was close to Piastri, but he judged it perfectly and didn’t hit him.

Looked to me like Danny Ric tapped Oscar on the rear tyre before being rammed. Only slight but he mis-judged it also.

 

[figbat]

Looked to me like Danny Ric tapped Oscar on the rear tyre before being rammed. Only slight but he mis-judged it also.

He didn't launch him into orbit or end his race though, did he? I must admit I didn't see any contact as it looked like it was nosecone-to-diffuser that came close. Besides, little taps and nudges are "racing", especially during a start or restart. Using your car as an inspection ramp is not. And then trying to blame Ric and moaning about the penalty just exposes the entitlement.

 

[Jody]

He didn't launch him into orbit or end his race though, did he? I must admit I didn't see any contact as it looked like it was nosecone-to-diffuser that came close. Besides, little taps and nudges are "racing", especially during a start or restart. Using your car as an inspection ramp is not. And then trying to blame Ric and moaning about the penalty just exposes the entitlement.

It was more that he didn't judge it perfectly, orbit or not. He misjudged aswell but only tapped the car in front.

Lance is such a b*ll end though. Never his fault and Dad'll always sort it

 

[Reynard]

All drivers should be anticipating and responding to what’s actually happening, not what should be happening. DR was close to Piastri, but he judged it perfectly and didn’t hit him. Stroll then came ploughing through and buried his car under Danny’s - not just a light tap - whilst looking somewhere else. It’s a hairpin, and he’s under SC conditions. The hairpin was there every time he went around a lap, so wasn’t a surprise. Also it’s a SC restart so things get bunched up. Everyone else managed to work it out.

Take a look at Max’s reaction in the cooldown room.

No, Ricciardo *did* hit Piastri.

If you'd listened to McLaren's radio transmissions, you'd know that Oscar's car had floor damage. Which was why he was so slow in the second half of the race.

 

[figbat]

No, Ricciardo *did* hit Piastri.

If you'd listened to McLaren's radio transmissions, you'd know that Oscar's car had floor damage. Which was why he was so slow in the second half of the race.

Well he definitely did AFTER Lance had rear-ended him, but he’d managed to pull up OK before that.

 

[icowden]

Saw this gem on the BBC Benson Q&A:

Is Lance Stroll good enough for F1? Yet another incident in China and completely outperformed and outclassed by his team-mate - Kevin

Lance Stroll clearly made a major error in ramming the back of Daniel Ricciardo’s RB at a safety car restart in China. But he is usually a perfectly competent F1 driver who definitely has talent - for example, his pole position for Racing Point in the wet in Turkey in 2020.
Having said that, most in F1 would agree that on a ranking of current drivers he would be towards the bottom, and it’s also fair to say he has had seven years to prove himself and he would probably not have a drive if his father was not a billionaire who owned the team for which he races.
As for being out-performed and out-classed by his team-mate, yes, that’s a fair comment. But his team-mate, Alonso, is exceptional, to say the least.
Stroll might not have beaten a team-mate in F1 other than Sergey Sirotkin at Williams back in 2018, but he has compared much better against all the others - including Sebastian Vettel - than he has against Alonso.

I think they could have made this more concise:

Is Lance Stroll good enough for F1? Yet another incident in China and completely outperformed and outclassed by his team-mate - Kevin
No.

 

[figbat]

Saw this gem on the BBC Benson Q&A:


I think they could have made this more concise:

Quite apart from his talent (or lack of), it's the entitled outbursts that really don't cover him in glory. He blamed Danny for the shunt, then whinged about the penalty and even after race refused to take any blame for what happened. He can clearly drive OK as shown by his dominant F3 championship in 2016 (where he bested Russell) but clearly F1 is a step too far and he is relying on nepotism more than ability to retain his seat.

 

[icowden]

He can clearly drive OK as shown by his dominant F3 championship in 2016 (where he bested Russell)

That's arguable:-

Throughout the season, Stroll and his team were accused of manufacturing his title via team orders to his teammates, which was highlighted by George Russell, who stated at Le Castellet, where Stroll had inherited the lead from a slowing Nick Cassidy, who ended up finishing second, that "it's not a fair fight".[19]

He did well in his first 3 seasons of karting then at KF3 level he stopped coming anywhere near first with one exception in 2012. He came first in his first F4 championship and in the 2015 M2 competition. Then he suddenly catapulted to loads of wins in his first F3 Championship. His dad bought him a place in the leading team and then there are strong suggestions that the team ensured he came first where possible.

Additionally, Russell was once again racing for one of the back of the field teams (Carlin finished 6th out of 7 teams) so did pretty well to come third.

 

[AndyRM]

Stroll is a total imposter IMO. I'm only a casual viewer of F1 by proxy and even I can see that he's hopeless at this level. The Aston clearly isn't the greatest car in the field but Alonso is showing what a decent driver can get out of it.

Still, I suppose he distracts from Williams driving about in cars made out of parts from the spares box which they must be thankful for!

 

[figbat]

That's arguable:-


He did well in his first 3 seasons of karting then at KF3 level he stopped coming anywhere near first with one exception in 2012. He came first in his first F4 championship and in the 2015 M2 competition. Then he suddenly catapulted to loads of wins in his first F3 Championship. His dad bought him a place in the leading team and then there are strong suggestions that the team ensured he came first where possible.

Additionally, Russell was once again racing for one of the back of the field teams (Carlin finished 6th out of 7 teams) so did pretty well to come third.

It's easy to beat up on him based on current form, but team orders are part of racing and he won that championship by a country mile. Credit where it's due. He also beat Russell and Albon in his rookie year and was one place below Leclerc. I just don't think he has transitioned to F1 well. Others have done the same but been weeded out quickly due to no billionaire father owning their team.

 

[Illaveago]

I don't often agree with some of the comments on F1 races on the net but today I found myself agreeing with some of the things said. It was about Mercedes and their lack of performance. The comments were that it was time that Mercedes changed their design team. It does seem that they seem incapable of understanding the new concept which was brought in by the FIA. They struggled with their first design for 2 years , changed their ideas and have gone further backwards. Surely there must be something seriously wrong when other teams using your engines are out performing your own cars? If other teams have made progress why haven't Mercedes?

 

[Drago]

I see Red Bull Spice agrees with me.

He's opined that Tonto Wilf should spend less time trying to wind him up with comments about wanting to sign Verstappen, and more time trying to fix the numerous problems with his own teams performance.

A bit close to the bone in some ways, the secondary meassge there being what kind of driver woukd sign for a team with such a poor car when a better drive was available. Alonso declined, so why would someone in an even better position choose them?

Tonto again forgetting the lesson about the habits of successful people. I'd like to see him and the team do so much better, but he seems to be wilfully wasting time on things that won't make his lot any better.

Come on Tinto - you can do some much better. Give us some entertainment on the track instead of the gossip columns.

 

[figbat]

I don't often agree with some of the comments on F1 races on the net but today I found myself agreeing with some of the things said. It was about Mercedes and their lack of performance. The comments were that it was time that Mercedes changed their design team. It does seem that they seem incapable of understanding the new concept which was brought in by the FIA. They struggled with their first design for 2 years , changed their ideas and have gone further backwards. Surely there must be something seriously wrong when other teams using your engines are out performing your own cars? If other teams have made progress why haven't Mercedes?

It doesn't help that a lot of big talent has walked away from Mercedes.

 

[figbat]

I see Red Bull Spice agrees with me.

He's opined that Tonto Wilf should spend less time trying to wind him up with comments about wanting to sign Verstappen, and more time trying to fix the numerous problems with his own teams performance.

A bit close to the bone in some ways, the secondary meassge there being what kind of driver woukd sign for a team with such a poor car when a better drive was available. Alonso declined, so why would someone in an even better position choose them?

Tonto again forgetting the lesson about the habits of successful people. I'd like to see him and the team do so much better, but he seems to be wilfully wasting time on things that won't make his lot any better.

Come on Tinto - you can do some much better. Give us some entertainment on the track instead of the gossip columns.

Lewis appears to agree too - perhaps he saw the writing on the wall and is jumping ship to a resurgent Ferrari?

Horner is a huge hypocrite though - he's now saying we should bask in the glory of a dominant driver in a dominant car and be thankful for witnessing such prowess, yet a few years ago he was moaning about the dominance of Mercedes, how it was bad for F1 and calling for the FIA to intervene. At least Toto has admitted it is up to the rest of the field to do better, rather than attempt to hobble the RB.