F1 2018
Comments
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Absolutely One, in Qualies that the best-ever F1 time changed hands 3 times within 10 seconds, first Hamilton, Vettel and then Raikkonen all three setting fastest ever laps, in times which you and I cannot measure!
Maybe Ferrari need to adopt Mercedes' tactics as deployed later in the race - Bottas backing-up Raikkonen into team mate Hamilton?
I was utterly surprised at how easily Raikkonen drove past Hamilton on the first lap to regain first place! Had it been Vettel it would probably have been a dream result for the 'tifosi'
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So then, team orders - good or bad?
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For Mercedes = good, it gives their driver the best chance of the championship (follow the money) Decisive management from Toto which after all is what he's paid for.
For the drivers, generally disappointment. Valteri had a rare chance to win denied and Lewis felt he hadn't won. So = bad
For racing we were maybe denied a mercedes battle, who knows what might have happened there. = bad
So it depends from what perspective you view this as a Lewis fan, Seb fan, Valteri fan, or racing fan.
I would have liked to have seen them race, on balance in this case team orders were for me bad.
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I think there comes a time in the season where team orders have a place. Valteri was perfectly candid in an after race interview that he was not in the running for the World Championship and so from that prospective there is a need to play the team game. It would happen in any team. I suppose it depends what the priority of the race fans are. team/driver/racing. I sensed that even Lewis wasn't particularly happy with winning a race in such circumstances. The team could let them battle it out but an accident could take both cars off the track which would affect both championships. Probably dammed if you do and dammed if you don't?
David
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Absolutely the right thing to do. Theres too much at steak to take any risks.
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To answer Cyber's question. Most definitely bad, especially for the racing fan.
For me there's too much involvement from the pit lane, too much electrickery, too much interfering in general. Granted there needs to be progress but soon it won't be necessary for a driver! It's all leading to a very tedious and boring pastime. Team orders may be necessary to win a championship but at the expense of racing?Surely it devalues F1 and certainly the efforts of Bottas?
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F1 has long moved away from being a gentleman's sport where a few rich people could indulge their passion for motorsport. It has morphed into a massive business employing thousands of highly qualified people whose livelihoods depend on the team getting the maximum results come what may. So I don't think it's going to change any time soon. Formula E is an interesting occasional watch.
David
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It may lose a substantial section of its fanbase when it goes completely over to subscription viewing. I';m preparing mentally to switch to BTCC next year.
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It's a boring, boring procession these days and certainly not good for the spectators. If it wasn't for Max Verstappen it wouldn't be worth watching at all and even he backed off in the last few laps to save his engine.
I disagree with team orders and any other control from the pit lane including strategy calls, pit stops, turning engine power up and down etc. etc.
Would rather they went out with a set of tyres and a full tank and raced. If they can't make tyres to last more than 25 laps have 2 races in the day.
Don't attend anymore and thankful for being able to record and fast forward the majority of the race. Even the multitude of Channel 4 commentators are struggling for what to say that is constructive.
As an ex motorcyclist still get interested in Moto GP where often you wouldn't bet on the winner in the last 5 laps !
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One only needs an over-exuberant Verstappen to change 25 points to zero. It ain't over till the fat lady sings although I doubt bookies will give you much in the way of odds.
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See, you weren't far out CY!!!! Mind you I don't think Max can be blamed for the Vettel incident and the clash with Kimi he was 50/50 and Max potentially lost out on second place as a result of the 5 second penalty? Just doesn't seem to be Vettel's year!
David
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It all seems to be going wrong for him since the middle of the season doesn't it.
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Personally I think Verstappen was totally to blame for the incident with Kimi and he was given a penalty for returning unsafely to the track. I think Seb was right to go for the pass as he really needed to make progress to try and catch Hamilton. The problem for Vettel is IMO that Ferrari, due to both qualifying and racing strategy making it more difficult for Vettel to progress. It was good to see that Ferrari didn’t play the team order game by swooping Kimi and Seb.
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Sorry Oneputt but I don't think it was as straightforward as that. Max had gone off track so reentering the circuit was never going to be easy I am not sure where else he was going to go? I appreciate at the speed they were going its difficult to make split second moves but if Kimi was aware of the situation he needed to be a bit more cautious. I also don't think Farrari could have have used team orders as Vettel was so far behind Kimi would have almost had to come to a standstill to let him pass. I wonder if now it is all a bit academic. Things are going to have to go desperately wrong for Mercedes for Lewis not to claim the Drivers Championship.
David
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What appeared to be a slam dunk wasn't. It did at least add a bit of tension to an otherwise rather boring race.
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I wonder if Ferrari are regretting letting Kimi go? Perhaps they feel that Seb hasn't got another Championship in him and want a young gun to take over?
David
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A gentle trundle round the track tomorrow for Lewis should see the championship his, unless of course you know who doesn't force him off the track again!! What's the chance of the two Red Bulls crashing out at the first corner?
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Assuming no mishaps with the Red Bulls, it may be difficult for Lewis to get past them which means it is likely that Seb will be snapping at his heels all the way round. There is apparently the prospect of rain which will mix it all up.
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To be truthful I've been increasingly disillusioned and less excited by F1 in recent years and this year has done little to reverse this trend for me. More like scalextric racing these days and far less seat of the pants stuff. The 'lower' less big business formulas have as much if not more going for them in my opinion.
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Unless you subscribe to satellite, you won't be able to anyway. It's not FTA from next year. That'll be the end of me following F1. My earliest memory of F1 is listening to Murray Walker describing Fangio's on-track exploits on the radio.
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I understood there had been a re-think. I found this on the web.
Channel 4 will broadcast the 2019 British Grand Prix live to UK television viewers, with the other 20 Formula 1 races shown as highlights in a new deal with Sky.
As part of the arrangement, the two broadcasters will share availability of some of their original drama programmes.
Sky has exclusive rights to screen F1 races live in the UK from the start of next season as the shared agreement it has had with terrestrial stations on the BBC and Channel 4 since 2012 ends following this year's campaign.
But Channel 4 will now continue to show F1 highlights as part of a new arrangement that means the first series of Sky show Tin Star will be shown on the station later this year, with selected Channel 4 and Walter Presents drama series released on the Sky and NOW TV platforms.
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I think we have got to the point where we are happy to watch the highlights rather than the full show. Whenever there is a live race the programme seems to go on forever. I am not sure what that will mean for the presenters but I wonder if it will only be the current small team they use for highlight programmes. If that is the case I will miss Mark Webber.
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The presenters constantly try to make the races sound more exciting that they actually become. Too many races won by tyre issues, pit stop involvement, mechanical failure, crashes and pit stops. It would be nice for more of the driver competence to come through but plenty of people pay to see the races on Sky or go to the races to develop phenomenal income so they must be doing something right.
I always record and spin through mostly at high speed !
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