Abu Dhabi Grand Prix......Spoiler Alerts!

[planenut]

Verstappen is World Champion, Hamilton is not and he will not be happy, but neither am I.
Already looking forward to the new season which I think will be more exciting than that just ended. With so much inexperience on the grid and tremendous construction changes, the designers will have their work cut out for them.

[clf]

Originally Posted by COLVERT

Paragraph 1---No.

Paragraph 2---If Hamilton hadn't swerved there would have been a collision to Verstappen's advantage. ( A cunning way to become world champion.) He didnt just swerve, he cut the corner. If he had followed the shape of that corner, or slowed enough to let Verstappen to retake the distance gained he would have been within the rules. It may only have been a few metres, but unlike the safety car issue, the rules are very clear on this. As Senna found out in 89.

Paragraph 3---Another race side by side over one lap: both on new tyres. That is exactly what happened, except Mercedes did not take the option. Red Bull gambled that this would happen. But to make it fair, you would have to swap out the engines. Verstappen's engine was twice as old as Hamilton's due directly to a cynical event instigated by Hamilton losing his cool.

In reality, my money would be on Vertsappen for the win on that. Vertsappen is a racer, whereas Hamilton has become simply a driver

Paragraph 4---I wasn't speaking about the whole Ethos; just the end of that race. The rest of the race and season counts. You stated your opinion was based solely on a single lap. The championship is based upon a number of races over the year.


My opinion. ---If all of the lapped cars had been allowed to pass, the race would have been over. Hamilton would have crossed the finish line first. Verstappen would not have had enough time to get to the front. So you want to actually hamper Verstappen's opportunity to get a chance to race Hamilton? As I stated previously, the ideal would have been to restrain Verstappen for the time he was behind Hamilton prior to Lattifi's crash - then the tyre/engine advantages should level out over the final lap. Or perhaps, stop the cars altogether and release them by their times between each other.

Just letting 5 cars through took away the advantage Hamilton had by the last couple of laps. Agreed, but for that to be argued, Hamilton must give the advantage gained from cutting the corner on the first lap. You cannot deny he gained a lot of distance. And to be fair, if the safety car was not out, Verstappen would easily have passed those five cars as Hamilton did, with little or no consequence. It is the distance advantage Hamilton had that should be argued for.


The controler's comment to Toto to let them race was rubbish because at that point one car had a tremendous advantage over the other.--( New tyres. ) This is where the teams should not have two comms with the race director as it used to be. You could hear in his voice how exasperated he was, and has been. The rules state that the race director can over rule decisions, he needs to be left alone, especially in that situation to do what he has to do. As far as the tremendous advantage, again I refer you to the much older engine Vertsappen had.





My point of view coincides with that of Mercedes.--Unfortunately yours does not.

As they say-----There's more than one way to skin a cat.---

As I read it, your point of view does not coincide with Mercedes. Their objections are surprisingly, solely with the FIA and the race director's decisions. They are not disputing that Verstappen's win. They are disputing the change of orders given and how the safety car came in earlier than is stipulated in the rules. They are ignoring a subsequent rule where the race director can over ride decisions made. It was confusing not only for spectators, but also the teams and their tactics. At the time, Verstappen came in, it was assumed by precedent (not the rules), that all the lapped cars would be able to get by. Red Bull gambled on that, and their being enough laps left to race. But the delay in getting started with the removal of the crashed williams, meant this would not be a viable proposition.

[stevestrat]

Originally Posted by planenut

Already looking forward to the new season which I think will be more exciting than that just ended

What excites me more than anything else is the prospect of George Russell in the other Mercedes.

[clf]

Originally Posted by stevestrat

What excites me more than anything else is the prospect of George Russell in the other Mercedes.

dont get too excited. You will not see his best until Hamilton leaves. Why do you think he didnt get a second race last year

I still think the most rounded and capable driver (for modern F1) on the grid is Norris. If Russell were to be allowed to race, you would see him outperform Hamilton, and be on a par with Norris in terms of ability and consistency.

[SCP440]

Originally Posted by planenut

Already looking forward to the new season which I think will be more exciting than that just ended. With so much inexperience on the grid and tremendous construction changes, the designers will have their work cut out for them.

My Oldest son works at Alpina in the Suspension development department at Enstone, they are already on overtime trying to get next years car prepared. The new rules are causing all sorts of headaches.



He reckons there will be a lot more windtunnel time than normal before the next season trying to claw back some of the losses from the new rules.

[planenut]

A chance for an outstanding driver to prove he is an outstanding sportsman and inspiration, missed by Hamilton not attending Formula Ones awards ceremony, a shame.

[clf]

Originally Posted by planenut

A chance for an outstanding driver to prove he is an outstanding sportsman and inspiration, missed by Hailton not attending Formula Ones awards ceremony, a shame.

Indeed, he didnt even bring his car to the correct parc fermé location at the end of the race, instead hiding it among the rest of the pack.

His non attendance was in contravention of the rules and this, I think weakens Mercedes's stand of the argument, that Michael Masi contradicted the FIA rules (even though the rules allow for Masi's actions).

The non attendance was very quickly brushed over during the event, was quite awkward I thought. But in saying that, they did reward an 8 time world champion though at the event.

I did find the press reports on Monday, of him being the epitome of how to lose a championship a little bit much too, especially after the parc fermé situation too. HOWEVER, I cannot blame Hamilton in any way for his actions both the end of the race and the non attendance. I do not think I could have either driven to the parc fermé location nor attended the prize giving, in the circumstances.

[stevestrat]

What a sad world we live in. Nicholas Latifi who's crash caused the late safety car has received vicious online abuse, even death threats from so called F1 fans.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/59747656