Alright when was that again.....?

[Turk]

I'm always taken aback by all the moaning and hatred there is for Hamilton. For the most part it just seems so unfounded and something other drivers don't suffer, that it really makes me wonder if it is just racism. I'm giving people the benefit of the doubt because celebrities always attract bitterness, but when I hear people moan about Hamilton it really makes me second guess their motives.

People always complain that drivers are too sanitised now, they do as they're told to make sponsors happy. Then a driver puts what is important to him front and centre and uses he's celebrity to bring attention to people that are marginalised and he gets abuse for not being a silent billboard for advertisers. I would much rather see a drivers personality than the bland smiling billboard.

I constantly see people giving out about he's radio communications, saying he cries and moans about things, as if other drivers don't do exactly the same thing. Or as if every single one of us don't behave the same way once we get behind the wheel of any kind of machine. I saw a video come up on my facebook feed of a guy (that grew up in the same area as Hamilton) trying to make out Hamilton only got to where he is because he got preferential treatment as a black man, it was utterly ridiculous.

Hamilton is free to talk about whatever he wants. It's pretty easy to just avoid all the media surrounding a race and just watch the race. But to go hunting down all this news then give out that they say or do things you don't like is a completely different kettle of fish.

He's one of the greats of F1, and he's using that greatness to bring attention to the plight of others. You don't have to like what he's saying but there's no reason to hate him for having an opinion.

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

Bottas is so weak during a race, he only knows how to qualy.

Bottas is now in third on the championship, he has 8 wins during his 4 years on the DOMINANT CAR, while Max has 9 wins. Leclerc is actually closer on points to Bottas than Bottas is to Hamilton.

 

[Turk]

Bottas is so weak during a race, he only knows how to qualy.

From what I could see Bottas was holding his own against Hamilton, maybe it was just a matter of timing but he got screwed in the second round of pitstops.

 

[Turk]

I noticed a lot of them weren't using the full width of the track during qualifying as well. Maybe they just don't need that much track and it's worth shortening the line because they won't need the speed going into the next corner??

 

[PickABetterUsername01]

From what I could see Bottas was holding his own against Hamilton, maybe it was just a matter of timing but he got screwed in the second round of pitstops.

I think, I've never seen Bottas actually attacking Hamilton and beating him.

And that's in general, not talking about only this race, he's pretty weak during races.

 

[Durge Driven]

Thanks bookmarked

Now Nicolas has best finish 17th

 

[Turk]

I think, I've never seen Bottas actually attacking Hamilton and beating him.

And that's in general, not talking about only this race, he's pretty weak during races.

The problem for Bottas is that he's regularly told not to fight when he's behind Hamilton, but when the positions are reversed they are allowed to fight. I think Hamilton is still Mercedes golden boy, which is understandable. He's been part of the team since he was a child, I think no matter what Mercedes says about the drivers being equal, deep down they want Hamilton to win, he's just a better money spinner than Bottas. He's more established than Bottas, and he always delivers were Bottas is somewhat unknown.

It's a combination of emotions and business that gives Hamilton a slight edge inside the team. Bottas would have to be head and shoulders above Hamilton for that to change (IE: Leclerk/Vettel), but he's not.

 

[BrainsBush]

Today multiple sources published an article about the idea FIA intends to abandon the F1 so called qualification 'party mode' in 2021?

E.g. https://www.racefans.net/2020/08/12/fia-plans-ban-on-qualifying-mode-engine-settings-in-2021/
https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/65495/-fia-wants-to-abolish-qualifying-mode-in-2021-.html


Food for thought and hopefully some good debate.

 

[Antony Snook]

The fine to racing point is basically what it costs to manufacture your own brake duct. And the points will give way to rivals like Renault.
The bottom line Williams use the same Mercedes engine and probably listed parts (Though Frank Williams has always been about building his own parts so there is better integration and its easy to modify than a component from another company) This is Williams the worst team on the grid in 2019. And they have improved in 2020. Racing point must be somewhere close to Williams on the financial scale. So they have shot themselves in the foot and humiliated the backers and sponsors. A real marketing pitfall. F1 is about attracting sponsors and corporations not upsetting them with drama like this.

 

[Antony Snook]

Now Stroll Sr is really angry

Its hard to tell with a mask on his face.

 

[pcraenme]

The problem for Bottas is that he's regularly told not to fight when he's behind Hamilton, but when the positions are reversed they are allowed to fight. I think Hamilton is still Mercedes golden boy, which is understandable. He's been part of the team since he was a child, I think no matter what Mercedes says about the drivers being equal, deep down they want Hamilton to win, he's just a better money spinner than Bottas. He's more established than Bottas, and he always delivers were Bottas is somewhat unknown.

It's a combination of emotions and business that gives Hamilton a slight edge inside the team. Bottas would have to be head and shoulders above Hamilton for that to change (IE: Leclerk/Vettel), but he's not.

Exactly what happened last weekend. Hamilton was behind Bottas and they were told that they were allowed to race each other... that would never have happened if the situation was reversed.

 

[Turk]

Exactly what happened last weekend. Hamilton was behind Bottas and they were told that they were allowed to race each other... that would never have happened if the situation was reversed.

"we need to get the cars to the end, for the team".

I have been thinking about last weekend, and to be fair to Mercedes, Bottas got caught out by his position, he had a chance to keep 2nd, whereas Hamilton had less to lose by pit stopping. There was a certain amount of bad luck involved for Bottas. But I also think that Mercedes just didn't try as hard to help him out.

 

[djwheeler34]

One of these

 

[djwheeler34]

Mazda kill off TCR programme - VelocityNews

Coronavirus has killed off the highly anticipated Mazda TCR programme set to make its debut next season across a range of global TCR series. The sinister looking hatchback based off of the Mazda3 was set to be powered by a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder mill punching an estimated 260kW of...

www.velocitynews.co.nz

 

[Ronaldoz87]

Well, this has been an endless discussion since RB put Verstappen in their primary seat.
Any rider from RB's own stable will be exposed in direct comparison to Max. So the discussion turns back and forth which 2nd driver RB should replace in their puzzle. And now talks about a Gasly return. But even if the junior program seems (a bit) to vague I'm pretty sure RB will not deviate from their foundation and hire an 'external' top driver

I think RB is prettyhappy with the state of things. History has in general shown a consistent division of roles has a benefit, especially with an ace driver being a part of it. I'm not convinced that another B-driver from the RB program will deliver more points to the calendar compared to Albon, though he had been off to a bad season start. Think he will learn and catch up on it.

At the moment not. I think there are some drivers at the F3 that have potential. For RB, I think only a driver from the current grid (or drivers like Hulkenberg) could do better then Albon. I mean, Red Bull didn't want Ricciardo / Sainz to leave them. So it's not that Red Bull did not have good drivers.

 

[stenovitz]

At the moment not. I think there are some drivers at the F3 that have potential. For RB, I think only a driver from the current grid (or drivers like Hulkenberg) could do better then Albon. I mean, Red Bull didn't want Ricciardo / Sainz to leave them. So it's not that Red Bull did not have good drivers.

AFAIR there was a certain reason for Ricciardo willing to leave RB. Stuff like this for instance

And RB don't wan't more of this in the future. So yes doing sort of well with Albon if they're to stick with their RB program. If not, Hülkenberg is a straight forward choice.

 

[danclark]

Not sure about this, it seems decidedly political rather than sporting.

I would like to see Mercedes advantage reduced but not by arbitrarily making rule changes mid-season. If this is actually a rule clarification in response to a strong but unprovable suspicion Merc are doing something illegal (similar to Ferrari last year), then it's justifiable. However, the article reads as though the FIA are just considering arbitrary fundamental rule changes at short notice, which is rather Ecclestone/Moseley-esque.

Also I'm not really sure it'll actually hurt Mercedes much directly. Their qualy advantage is handy but it seems like they'd still be at or near the front row based on their Q2 times without the party mode. Instead what it may do is push (t)Racing Points into the midfield pack and cast Williams adrift at the back again.

Lastly the timing of this news, coming as it does after the battle lines have been drawn for the RP appeals, and public reluctance on Mercedes to sign the new Concord agreement seems highly coincidental.

I want a closer F1 Championship but if the gap is closed artificially it just devalues the whole sport.

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Welcome to the central discussion thread for the 2020 Formula One Spanish Grand Prix, round six of the shortened 2020 Formula One World Championship season.

Two races at the Red Bull Ring, a short hop to the Hungaroring and then a double 70th Anniversary celebration at Silverstone later, and the Formula One circus heads to the track perhaps best known by all the drivers in the field - the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

With the European summer in full swing, temperatures in Barcelona are expected to remain somewhat on the high side this coming weekend - which sets up the tantalising prospect of another potentially challenging weekend for the tyre limited Mercedes team, assuming the Brackley outfit fail to get on top of the issues experienced last time out at Silverstone.

Red Bull, and in particular Max Verstappen head to Barcelona on a high following their unexpected victory last time out, and the weekend of activity could be fascinating to see if the Austrian outfit have what it takes to mount a serious title challenge, or if the anniversary Grand Prix result was more a product of circumstance than outright lap pace.

Can Ferrari find something deep in their reserves to pull off a result, are Renault able to take it to McLaren again - all these questions and more are going to be asked, and answered over the coming weekend...

Should be a great race!

 

[Paul Jeffrey]

Sergio Perez is set to return to the Formula One field this weekend in Barcelona, having been passed fit to race following his recent positive Covid-19 diagnosis.

Bringing an end to the much hyped and highly enjoyable return to action for Nico Hulkenberg in Formula One, Sergio Perez will once again don the bright pink overalls of Racing Point alongside Lance Stroll this coming weekend, having been forced to miss the both the British and 70th Anniversary Grand Prix weekends following a positive test result for Covid-19 ahead of the Silverstone double header.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1293821564484571136

The Mexican has failed to produce any significant symptoms of the illness during his enforced layoff, so should be capable of jumping back into the RP 20 and producing performances similar to those achieved before he stepped aside for Hulkenberg prior to the Silverstone weekend.

Hulkenberg has been stood down from his temporary stand in duties, however the 32-year-old German remains unattached to a team for the current season, and as such is very much the man of the moment should another driver be forced to sit out future events due to the current world health situation.


For more from the world of Grand Prix racing, and to get involved with your fellow Formula One fans, why not head over to the Formula One sub forum here at RaceDepartment and get a new thread started and introduced to the world?

 

[MoerasGrizzly]

Aww ****