2017 Formula 1 season

[Alferd Packer]

Wonder what Sauber are thinking of their Honda move at the moment... Apparently Honda have said they'll have massive improvements by mid-season but we've heard that before.

I suspect Honda's paying them to use the engine, as McLaren appears to be dropping them next year and Honda want to remain in the sport, even if in a backmarker.

Anyway, Bottas earned that win. Good for him. And we got to hear the Finnish national anthem for the first time in a long time.

[atg]

Apparently part of the deal is that McLaren have guaranteed to supply Sauber with gearboxes even if they do swap to another engine supplier. I suppose it does show that Honda are in it for the long term.

[Thanas]

Not sure where you are getting this 'cannot save tyres' from.

Maybe from his constant complaining about them?

Not impressed by his pace and haven't been since the season started.

[Alferd Packer]

Tangential, but IndyCar is currently livestreaming Fernando Alsonso's first Indy test on Youtube.

[Alferd Packer]

Tangential, but IndyCar is currently livestreaming Fernando Alsonso's first Indy test on Youtube.

Tangential again, but I thought I'd point out that, mainly due to the interest in Alonso's entry into the Indy 500, IndyCar has been streaming practice at Indy all week. I'd advise checking it out if only for a few minutes, because the comments are frigging hilarious.

[Thanas]

Forgot to say this: That was some very good strategy by Mercedes in the last GP. Props to them and Hamilton for managing to stave off Vettel.

[Alferd Packer]

Forgot to say this: That was some very good strategy by Mercedes in the last GP. Props to them and Hamilton for managing to stave off Vettel.

Agreed. Merc's strategy was impeccable. Though I think some were suggesting that Vettel was down on power, as he was still using his first PU of the year (with over 3000km on it). Lewis certainly blew by him like he was standing still when he made that pass.

Still, this season is sooooo much more entertaining than the last couple years. And hey, if Red Bull manages to sneak a win in at Monaco next week, then that'll make it all the more fun.

[SpottedKitty]

And hey, if Red Bull manages to sneak a win in at Monaco next week, then that'll make it all the more fun.

Don't forget that one corner where all the pileups seem to collect, if the one in front isn't careful enough. I think the first practice session in Monaco with the new cars is going to be "interesting times" — yes, in that sense.

(And there's also that awkward hairpin, and the tunnel where you sometimes see a whole car go in and one lonely wheel bounce sadly out... well, it is Monaco, it's never entirely predictable.)

[Captain Seafort]

Lewis certainly blew by him like he was standing still when he made that pass.

That's not much of a yardstick - the DRS zone was longer than usual, so it was giving a much greater advantage than usual. Even Alonso was overtaking people on the straight, and that McLaren would be pushed to take on a milk float.

[atg]

And hey, if Red Bull manages to sneak a win in at Monaco next week, then that'll make it all the more fun.

Don't forget that one corner where all the pileups seem to collect, if the one in front isn't careful enough. I think the first practice session in Monaco with the new cars is going to be "interesting times" — yes, in that sense.

(And there's also that awkward hairpin, and the tunnel where you sometimes see a whole car go in and one lonely wheel bounce sadly out... well, it is Monaco, it's never entirely predictable.)

Palmer or Stroll for first crash?

[SpottedKitty]

Palmer or Stroll for first crash?

<tosses coin>

<it sticks to the ceiling>

[Alferd Packer]

Hamilton is out of contention tomorrow. Wow. I wonder if we'll see him try to stretch the ultrasofts for the duration of the race to make up as many positions as possible.

[SpottedKitty]

Much ouchings. Not sure what happened with Hamilton's car today, but it sounds weird. And that duplicate of Verstappen's crunch last year (in the same place, even) stopping him finishing that fast lap was just horribly bad luck. Fingers crossed for tomorrow...

[Thanas]

Serves the blocker right I say.

[Thanas]

What a great race. Awesome drive by Vettel.

[Alferd Packer]

That was a great race, though I do feel for Kimi.

[Thanas]

That was a great race, though I do feel for Kimi.

It sucks for him for sure but Vettel was 0.5 seconds faster per lap.

[Alferd Packer]

That was a great race, though I do feel for Kimi.

It sucks for him for sure but Vettel was 0.5 seconds faster per lap.

And those 5 hot laps on the ultrasofts before his pit stop were nothing short of pure racing genius, so he definitely earned that win. Still, you'd like to see Kimi get one more victory before his retirement from F1.

[Alferd Packer]

Well, while it was a procession up in front, the race for the final spot on the podium was some brilliant stuff, with Seb doing another brilliant stint late in the race. Had he 2-3 more laps, he definitely could've challenged Daniel for third. But then the world would've been deprived of this:





Up next, BAKU WELCOMES US ALL, but first we get 24 Hours of Le Mans this weekend. I always look forward to that.

[Thanas]

I don't know wtf either Vettel or Hamilton were thinking when they did this.

[Captain Seafort]

About six months ago I said this:

"Outrageous" is really an exaggeration of my view of Vettel. I don't think he's close to being a Schumacher/Maldonado-type thug

Unfortunately, given today's events, I must revise my opinion. Vettel must now be considered a dangerous thug who, as of this moment, has got away extraordinarily lightly with behaviour as bad as those two at their worst. He should have, at bare minimum, have been black-flagged. A more appropriate response would be to ban him for a number of races, potentially including disqualifying him from the entire season, as happened to Schumacher for similar behaviour in '97.

I don't know wtf either Vettel or Hamilton were thinking when they did this.

I'm not sure what you think Hamilton did wrong. All that happened was that he didn't accelerate away from the corner in the manner Vettel obviously expected, and hence we saw a typical cock-up from Seb the Shunt. He didn't brake-test Vettel, and frankly the whole think could have been brushed off as a racing incident.

In any event, Shithead's subsequent use of his car as a weapon obviously renders the entire lead-up to it trivial and irrelevant.

[Thanas]

In any event, Shithead's subsequent use of his car as a weapon obviously renders the entire lead-up to it trivial and irrelevant.

Vettlel obviously overreacted but lets not act as he hit him at full speed. It was little more than a nudge with very little risk involved.

[Captain Seafort]

Vettel obviously overreacted but lets not act as he hit him at full speed. It was little more than a nudge with very little risk involved.

I don't care how quickly he was going or what the risk was. He used his car as a weapon. That's a mentality that cannot be tolerated in any way, shape or form. Coulthard made the apt comparison afterwards of a footballer headbutting an opponent. On a football pitch, that behaviour that would earn the offender an early shower and at least a three-match ban, regardless of how much damage was done. Vettel deserves the same.

[Thanas]

Vettel obviously overreacted but lets not act as he hit him at full speed. It was little more than a nudge with very little risk involved.

I don't care how quickly he was going or what the risk was. He used his car as a weapon.

He gave him a slight nudge when he probably lost control of his car because he was gesticulating wildly, doing no damage whatsoever. That is not using the car as a weapon. If he wanted to do that, he would have pushed Hamilton far further than he actually did.

Booohooohooo.

Grow up, this is less worse than about 90% of the crashes Hamilton was involved in and far less worse than what Hamilton regularly did to Rosberg.

When Hamilton and Maldonado took swipes at each other after qualifying, Maldonado got a grid drop and Hamilton got a reprimand. If anything, Vettel got a heavy punishment given the precedents.

[atg]

It was little more than a nudge with very little risk involved.

Nice rose-tinted visor there. Brundle pointed out that it'd be incredibly easy to break a car suspension doing that. And they are in open wheelers, if it hadn't been directly side on it'd be very easy for the wheels to have caught and flip a car up. Such behaviour should not be tolerated especially under a safety car. No matter who the driver is.

Grow up, this is less worse than about 90% of the crashes Hamilton was involved in and far less worse than what Hamilton regularly did to Rosberg.

Really? Exactly how many of their incidents happened under a safety car? How many times did Hamilton or Rosberg stoop to the levels of a highway jerk road rager?

Vettel got a heavy punishment given the precedents.

10 second stop-go was a joke. It has set the precedent that you can lose your mind, rage out, and get a slap on the wrist. These drivers should be held to much better standards. I wonder what you'd be saying if it was Maldonado in Vettel's shoes.