Formula One
Comments
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I always make sure I stay away from the news channels until after the C4 broadcast. Contest is still tight but I don't think I'd put money on LH for his 8th championship.
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Red Bull must be wondering about their second driver at the moment. I thought Perez was an inspired choice and also surprised they went outside the Red Bull stable to find a driver? Of late, in previous teams he has been Mr consistent, however he seems to have struggle to find his feet at Red Bull. It is the Constructors Championship that dictates the money teams get at the end of the season. Had Perez been more consistent at Red Bull they would be in a better position in the Constructors race. What they need is another Vettel/Webber partnership?
David
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Great day for McLaren yesterday with Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris taking first and second. They certainly had the same pace as Red Bull and Mercedes and Ferrari were not too far behind. Maybe it was a lot to do with it being a fast, low downforce track but a great day for them non the less.
Max Crashtappen was back to his usual tricks. Frightening crash with him and Lewis Hamilton. I think Max was seeing the red mist after an appalling pit stop and was going to do everything to make sure Lewis didn’t finish in front of him, thereby protecting his 5 point lead.
It wasn’t very nice to listen to Verstappen on the radio when his car was still on top of Lewis’s saying “That’s what you get if you don’t give me room”. It certainly sounded like he crashed into Lewis intentionally, a view also taken by Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert.
Then to walk away without even checking if Lewis was alright with his Red Bull car still on top of the Mercedes sums up his attitude.
Lewis was very lucky not to be seriously injured. A testament to the value of the Halo head protection device possibly saving his life.
Verstappen has been deemed to have caused the incident by race stewards and has received a three place grid penalty for the next race.
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It’s about time Verstappen was banned for 3 races, never mind 3 places on the grid. His attitude is disgraceful and his driving skills worse. He’s a danger on the circuit, mostly to others, particularly if he doesn’t get his own way or things don’t go in his favour. I agree that to be a winner there needs to be drive, determination and some aggression at times but it needs to be controlled - and Crashtappen is not in control. He’s a loose cannon and woe betide anyone who gets in his sights.
It took the life of Jules Bianchi in 2015 for F1 to take steps to introduce more safety for the drivers and hence the halo. Without that, Lewis Hamilton would have been killed.
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Another interpretation might be that Lewis knew that Max was almost along-side him and if he gave him room he would overtake him so he squeezed Max which in normal circumstances would have forced him off the track. What he perhaps could not have anticipated was that that that part of the track there is a very high kerb which resulted in Max bouncing over him?
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David, interpretations aside, I stand by my comments and stick with the professional drivers analysing the incident - Verstappen deliberately drove into Hamilton - thus protecting his championship lead.
Does he care what happened to Lewis?
Verstappen's psychopathic tendancies are clear for all to see.
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You can interoperate the cause of the crash any way you want to. What isn't open to interoperation is Crashtappens radio message when he was on top of Lewis and the fact he walked away without a second glance to see if Lewis was okay.
Coupled with that he walked on to a live racing track ignoring marshals instructions to get of the track, thereby putting himself, the marshals and other drivers at great risk. Yet another example of his "I'm invincible" attitude.
David it was only a couple of weeks ago you posted:
"I think we have to accept that the Race Stewards found Lewis to be at fault so therefore no blame can be laid at the door of Max."
Why do you think the race stewards might have got it wrong this time?
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I think they both have similar attitudes. Lewis was equally dismissive of his roll in causing Max to crash at very high speed. At least Max’s rant could be put down to heat of the moment and sky high adrenaline levels. Although it would have been the decent thing to check on Lewis, he did mention he knew he was alright as he was trying to reverse out from underneath. As the stewards wording, with the exception of the drivers name, was the same in both incidents, it could be argued Max has been awarded a more severe penalty. 3 place grid, as against 10 seconds during a race in which he had knocked his opponent off the track and gone on to score lots of points.
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Steve
I tend to agree with your last point. Although it looked horrific Lewis didn't end up in hospital unlike Max in the previous incident!!! They are both playing for high stakes so such things will happen, as they have in the past. My own view is that Lewis is a man under pressure. His car is clearly does not have the advantage it once did so he has to fight for every point. Next year he will have George Russell breathing down his exhaust pipe and in such circumstances we will see more of this.
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Evening,
It's still bugging me that Max didn't check on a fellow driver in a crash. Saying he knew he was ok because he was trying to reverse is rubbish in my opinion. Lewis could have had a head injury that made him behave strangely. I have a bit of a motorsport background as in the early 90's we were into motorcycle drag racing. Another high adrenaline sport that tested machinery and nerve. No matter what the stakes were if a competitor had an off (crashed) and you knew it you stopped as safely as possible to see if they were ok. Back then it was a known thing that you looked out for eachother, the staunchest rivals would forget points and prizes if it meant someone was possibly hurt. I know f1 is different as in the media is involved and there's megabucks at stake but to me it's a cold person that walks away from a big crash looking like he doesn't care.
JK
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JK
Perhaps you need to read this? https://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/32263555/max-verstappen-hits-hypocrites-said-walked-away-lewis-hamilton-crash
David
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Not quite the point I was trying to make DK. Anyone involved in motorsport would understand what I was saying. The footage showed Max walking away, what happened post race is immaterial.
JK
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But Max didn't walk away from a lifeless body he walked away from watching a driver trying to reverse his car out of the situation so surely it was reasonable to conclude that Lewis was OK and perhaps, rather optimistically, trying to get back into the race?
David
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Schoolboy error from Lewis in qualifying today. Lets hope this track offers some decent overtaking opportunities unlike the last couple of races.
Yet another example of the ridiculous FIA rules which effectively means Crashtappen gets away with causing the crash 2 weeks ago. Surely if a team decides to change an engine which means the driver has to start from the back of the grid, the penalties given for causing a crash should be carried over to the next race and not served concurrently.
A great day for McLaren and Williams.
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Very easy to make those comments once briefed my his PR team.
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But it doesn't change the fact that clearly Lewis was perfectly OK as he was trying to reverse out of the situation. In the circumstances it could have been quite dangerous for Max to go anywhere near Lewis's car.
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In the circumstances it could have been quite dangerous for Max to go anywhere near Lewis's car.
Well, instead of Max checking on the wellbeing of a fellow driver, which he'd just parked his car on top of, Max decided to wonder on to a live race track despite the protestations of the marshals, which not only put himself in great danger but also other drivers and marshals, so any claims he didn't think it was safe to check on Lewis don't hold much water.
Also if Max genuinely thought Lewis was trying to reverse, why did he walk behind his car? Surly that was a dangerous thing to do.
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I understood the need for the engine was as a result of a crash for which Lewis was responsible. Who then went on to score lots of championship points after serving a paltry 10 second penalty. Personally I don’t think either side is whiter than white. Both have used the situations they have found themselves in to their best advantage, as you would expect.
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I see that Mercedes are still nervous of Max Verstappen and have given Bottas a new power unit so that he starts just in front Max at the back of the grid in stead of 7th and holds him up as much as possible.
The only spectator sport will come from Llando, George and Max.
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100 race wins for Lewis Hamilton. Another record and back on top of the drivers standings.
Shame McLaren got the tactics wrong. Good drive by Max Verstappen for second place.
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Well that didn't work for Mercedes. Bottas has clearly given up for this season and hasn't any interest in helping Lewis or Mercedes win the titles.
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Don't think I have ever watched a Grand Prix on a Monday morning (Channel Four recording)!!! A very close race and it seems all to play for with only five races left?
David
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That’s the trouble with those in the over the pond. I suppose the Mexico one will be the same, although the clocks going back might make it a bit better. The fact that F1 was originally included in our sky package and is now labeled as a legacy right, is about the only thing that has kept us with them, every time they put their prices up. I think you did right to record it. I wouldn't have been impressed if I had stayed up to watch it on CH4. Apart for the last 10 laps, I found it rather boring.
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Steve
I thought it was interesting that even on Sky the programme only lasted 2 hours and 5 minutes I think so there wasn't much in the way of build up or review? That finished at around 10.00pm. Channel Four suits us providing we can avoid any news programmes until we watch it although we are pretty safe with Channel Four News which I like anyway.
David
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Close but no cigar for LH. The trouble with it being so late, I think I may have nodded off during some of it. The actual footage was so abbreviated, I'm not sure if the overtake was omitted or I slept through that bit. Did Max pass on track or was it a pit stop jobby?
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Red Bull used quite an aggressive pit stop strategy which worked on the under cut. Lewis stayed out longer on the second pit stop, probably thinking that with better tyres he could get past Max. He was very close during the last three laps but obviously not close enough or perhaps enough confidence to try and pass. Probably better to get 19 points (fastest lap) than null points? Still five more races to go.
David
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Does look like it's slipping away for LH unless Max overcooks it in the first few corners and hits the wall.
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Interesting that the Constructors Championship gap has also narrowed to one point. I know people tend to concentrate on what driver wins the Drivers Championship but it is the Constructors Championship which brings in the money. Even the lower teams that score the odd point here and there makes such a massive difference to how much they get compared to no points.
David
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A bit of a nail-biter yesterday and an incredible drive by LH. I'm still not putting money on the final result though. Points-wise, the flying dutchman is going to take some catching.
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