2020 Formula 1 Season Thread

[The-Real-Deal82]

Nice to see Lewis made his win look exciting! Get in. Closing in on Schumachers win record .

Racing without fans is dull though isn’t it? Even on tv you can sense the loss.

 

[michael9891]

Should have been Max’s win. No need to pit. 10 second penalty for Christen Horner. 😡

He went for the fastest lap like everyone would do with the gap behind. Couldn't have known what would happen to Lewis. Who knows, might have had a blow out himself.

 

[Apple fanboy]

If you’ve missed the race, just watch the first lap and the last three. The rest was pretty forgettable.
Not a great race. Tyres should not be the star of the show!

Of course the pretty comfortable WC race is now even more comfortable for Lewis. Without the fans I do f know why they even bother with the podium. It’s so anticlimactic.

 

[jdechko]

If you’ve missed the race, just watch the first lap and the last three. The rest was pretty forgettable.
Not a great race. Tyres should not be the star of the show!

It’s a shame because for at least a short time during the middle of the race, it looked like there could have been some racing between the Mercs with Bottas only 1.5 behind.

 

[Apple fanboy]

It’s a shame because for at least a short time during the middle of the race, it looked like there could have been some racing between the Mercs with Bottas only 1.5 behind.

Yes he kept Lewis honest, but I think being within a second and a half of Lewis, and passing him are two different things.

 

[pachyderm]

If you’ve missed the race, just watch the first lap and the last three. The rest was pretty forgettable.
Not a great race. Tyres should not be the star of the show!

Of course the pretty comfortable WC race is now even more comfortable for Lewis. Without the fans I do f know why they even bother with the podium. It’s so anticlimactic.

One of the worst I've seen in awhile.

Funny the TV guys kept talking about 44's & 77's right front tires and it was their left ones that went flat.

I wish 44's could have gone down about 10 seconds earlier...

Did anyone else lose the race feed on lap 50?

It came back on at 52.

 

[Apple fanboy]

One of the worst I've seen in awhile.

Funny the TV guys kept talking about 44's & 77's right front tires and it was their left ones that went flat.

I wish 44's could have gone down about 10 seconds earlier...

Did anyone else lose the race feed on lap 50?

It came back on at 52.

Nope it was fine on my TV (channel 4).

 

[vrDrew]

Should - or could - Mercedes have brought Hamilton into the pits for a tire change after Verstappen pitted?

Not sure where Hamilton was on the lap when Verstappen boxed, or whether some other factor might have prevented him from going in. But you would have thought Mercedes engineers and strategists would have started working that scenario the moment they saw Bottas' tire let go. If not before.

It will be very interesting to see what happens next weekend. Everyone is talking about a two-stop race. Which makes sense. But could also add just enough variables (ie. safety cars, rain, etc.) to make it interesting for us fans.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Should - or could - Mercedes have brought Hamilton into the pits for a tire change after Verstappen pitted?

Not sure where Hamilton was on the lap when Verstappen boxed, or whether some other factor might have prevented him from going in. But you would have thought Mercedes engineers and strategists would have started working that scenario the moment they saw Bottas' tire let go. If not before.

It will be very interesting to see what happens next weekend. Everyone is talking about a two-stop race. Which makes sense. But could also add just enough variables (ie. safety cars, rain, etc.) to make it interesting for us fans.

There wasn’t another lap to pit Lewis. As Max was behind he pulled in on the penultimate lap. If Mercedes had known he was going to put they could have pitted also, but they would have lost the lead as Max would do the opposite.

 

[michael9891]

There wasn’t another lap to pit Lewis. As Max was behind he pulled in on the penultimate lap. If Mercedes had known he was going to put they could have pitted also, but they would have lost the lead as Max would do the opposite.

If Max pitted on the penultimate lap, Lewis could have pitted on the last lap and kept the lead.

 

[robbieduncan]

Yes he kept Lewis honest, but I think being within a second and a half of Lewis, and passing him are two different things.

It won’t happen next week. After this week there will be team orders to stop them pushing each other and therefore the tyres to the limit. Mercedes will view this as an easy 1-2 lost through poor driver management

 

[vrDrew]

If Max pitted on the penultimate lap, Lewis could have pitted on the last lap and kept the lead.

That's what I was thinking.

I'll have to watch the final few laps again, but in my recollection, Hamilton would have had the opportunity to pit going into lap 52, and come out comfortably ahead of Verstappen. My memory goes like this: Bottas flats on lap 50. Vertappen pits on 51 (at which point Hamilton was already way past the pit entrance) - but why wasn't Mercedes thinking of boxing Hamilton at the next opportunity as soon as Verstappen pitted?

I'm sure there is going to be much discussion about tire strategy in various F1 team facilities in the next few days.

 

[michael9891]

That's what I was thinking.

I'll have to watch the final few laps again, but in my recollection, Hamilton would have had the opportunity to pit going into lap 52, and come out comfortably ahead of Verstappen. My memory goes like this: Bottas flats on lap 50. Vertappen pits on 51 (at which point Hamilton was already way past the pit entrance) - but why wasn't Mercedes thinking of boxing Hamilton at the next opportunity as soon as Verstappen pitted?

I'm sure there is going to be much discussion about tire strategy in various F1 team facilities in the next few days.

Before I posted, I did double check the last few laps. The commentators clearly said it would be a great opportunity for Mercedes to pit Lewis to safeguard against what happened to Lewis, or he could just coast being so far in front. They got away with it this week, lesson learned not to take unnecessary risks.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Before I posted, I did double check the last few laps. The commentators clearly said it would be a great opportunity for Mercedes to pit Lewis to safeguard against what happened to Lewis, or he could just coast being so far in front. They got away with it this week, lesson learned not to take unnecessary risks.

If there was time to pit him, you’d have thought it was worth it just to cover off the possible failure and to try and get fastest lap point (like he needs it!).

 

[Apple fanboy]

It won’t happen next week. After this week there will be team orders to stop them pushing each other and therefore the tyres to the limit. Mercedes will view this as an easy 1-2 lost through poor driver management

But given they could take the next two races off, and still be in the lead in the constructors, I’m sure Toto will sleep okay!

 

[michael9891]

If there was time to pit him, you’d have thought it was worth it just to cover off the possible failure and to try and get fastest lap point (like he needs it!).

There was time. Max was behind Lewis and then Max pitted.

It's not about if they had time (they 100% did), it's about should they have to play it safe. Which the resulting blowout clearly says they should have.

 

[robbieduncan]

But given they could take the next two races off, and still be in the lead in the constructors, I’m sure Toto will sleep okay!

no chance. That’s the attitude that rightly gets Ferrari where they are: no where (another flattering result today for a terrible team with a woeful car). Mercedes were lucky to get the win today. It could easily have been a double DNF. That will keep Toto up all week

 

[VaeVictis]

Should have been Max’s win. No need to pit. 10 second penalty for Christen Horner. 😡

Outstanding drive by Leclerc to put that Red Mess on the podium. 😉

It is good question, if he would finish with those tires!

Boring race, but the end was exciting!

Lewis is closing in to almost all records.

 

[Apple fanboy]

no chance. That’s the attitude that rightly gets Ferrari where they are: no where (another flattering result today for a terrible team with a woeful car). Mercedes were lucky to get the win today. It could easily have been a double DNF. That will keep Toto up all week

True!

 

[Apple fanboy]

Bu

There was time. Max was behind Lewis and then Max pitted.

It's not about if they had time (they 100% did), it's about should they have to play it safe. Which the resulting blowout clearly says they should have.

I suppose if they brought him in and the pit stop went wrong or he binned it on cold tyres or trying to get fastest lap.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

 

[vrDrew]

It could easily have been a double DNF. That will keep Toto up all week

It very well could have been a double DNF. But Toto Wolff didn't get to be where he is worrying about what might have been.

I'm thinking that Mercedes will be running the numbers to see how they can best make a two-stop strategy work. With softer compounds and predicted hotter temperatures, it seems all but inevitable that's going to be the default.

In retrospect, it would seem that Mercedes pitted a few laps too early, to take advantage of the Safety Car on lap 14. Theoretically the "40 lap" lifetime for the hard compound that Pirelli predicted should have been enough. Except it wasn't. I seem to remember the pre-race strategies showed Medium compound tires going in for Hard on lap 18. Four laps later would have made all the difference for both Bottas and Hamilton, except the Safety Car took that option off the table for them.

It is certainly possible that the Mercedes chassis puts significantly more stress on that left front tire than do Ferrari and Red Bull. But if I were Binotto or Horner, I wouldn't plan on winning next week based purely on one less pit stop.

 

[ivanwi11iams]

Surely Lewis' heart was in his mouth on that last lap.
I cannot believe his car made it, i.e. that the tyre remained on the car.

If the tyre came off, he'd have to stop, no? From recollection, I believe there is a rule about 'dangerous driving' without a tyre or something like that. Either Nico or Vettel was penalized for doing so, years ago.

 

[AustinIllini]

Fun race.

I'll be honest, I don't really notice the fans missing, but I watch on a small screen.

 

[michael9891]

Bu

I suppose if they brought him in and the pit stop went wrong or he binned it on cold tyres or trying to get fastest lap.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

None of those were likely though and you can't get fastest lap if you're coming out of the pits on the last lap. It's not even hindsight. After seeing what happened to Bottas and knowing Lewis' tyres weren't great either, they decided to gamble.

 

[jdechko]

Yes he kept Lewis honest, but I think being within a second and a half of Lewis, and passing him are two different things.

that’s true. And with the way things turned out for Bottas, it would have made the end of the race much more interesting if they had been forced to really race for a few laps