Alright when was that again.....?

Kimmo Kokkonen · Dec 12, 2020

Hamilton was so weak today, I think Russell is faster than he.

Appie Kuipers · Dec 12, 2020

Kimmo Kokkonen said:
Hamilton was so weak today, I think Russell is faster than he.

You must’nt think that much

TOONS12 · Dec 12, 2020

zwiss said:
All of a sudden.... Red Bull is the best car !!
Oh wait... maybe... maybe the driver also matters?

Happy for Max, and for us: we might get an exciting race now

Doesn't quite work like that, we know that the Red Bull doesn't have the grunt of the Merc or the gadgets, what it does have is probably the best chassis in the field.
Also like it or not we can see that Max is just very very good, he is, for me, close to Marquez level but in F1.

The key point is, but many just ignore it, Russell was 18th, nearly 3 secs off the pace........

The driver might matter, but the bigger the advantage of the car, the less it matters....

Lewis had, what is to 99.9% of fit people under 60 just a cold. So I expected him to be at the front straight away. (save telling me about your next door neighbours sons dads friend who died of it please, I know many who have died of all sorts of stuff, people do die, get used to it, you will one day)

Also one of the reasons to leave qualifying to the last secs is you get the track at its most rubbered in state...... Red Bull timed it well...this very well could of played a part, i can see Merc jumping Max in the race)

Kimmo Kokkonen · Dec 12, 2020

mod-edit: we've really had enough of your trolling

Antony Snook · Dec 12, 2020

Kimmo Kokkonen said:
Really, I thought it was Nico who said that, Lewis did not provide any support, just laughed as if Nico were just stupid...he knows how much support Mercedes and FIA gave it just for him...Lewis is FIA's golden boy...but now a week after Russell's spectacular race Lewis is so out, hope he's not there in 2021. That's it.

You have to understand F1 drivers are puppets. They are trained to deal with press like this. The only driver i know that shared data with team mate was Prost and Lauda. In most cases the drivers want different things from car's handling based on how they drive the car. So sharing data is not helpful. The teams are split into car 1 and car 2 and a few others that work between garage. Its all about what works for you not someone else.

Bram Hengeveld · Dec 12, 2020

Kimmo Kokkonen said:
mod-edit: we've really had enough of your trolling

I gave you a thread reply ban but reading through your comments I decided on a temporary ban.

Your COVID denying forces me to boot you. Go somewhere else denying this decease while we all have friends and family in hospitals fighting for their lives or even worse have lost the fight to this virus already. You're an absolute disgrace, get out.

Can try again in the new year or even better just stay away entirely.

paracletus · Dec 12, 2020

Well done very quick that was. There can be no excuse from Mercedes - MV was the best today.
Tracks can get faster as the session progresses (even this one), but nevertheless this shows how good MV is.

Antony Snook · Dec 12, 2020

John-Eric Saxén said:
James Hunt wasn't an ex-driver? Are you seriously suggesting they should arm the commentary box with media people who have no understanding about racing? I have listened to enough broadcasts over my time watching F1 that haven't included (ex) drivers to tell that it doesn't work. Brundle is arguably the best English commentator of all time along with Murray Walker. 20 years ago there was no contest, Brundle was by far the most knowledgeable guy. Has he aged since then? Obviously, but he still easily beats an average media guy who knows nothing about racing. The only weakness I see with Brundle is that he is not as updated on all the technicalities of driving the current high-tech cars as someone like Nico Rosberg.

The best commentator in F1 is Murray Walker, Never drove a Grandprix. But he had passion and excitement. He represented the fan watching the race. The sky TV crew seem to check their personality at the door before they go live. They are worse than the 2 Canadian guys from TSN Network. Jerry Donaldson (Who did drive F1) but seemed dull and slow in conversation. And Vic Vater who is a Media person that will comentate anything on TV for TSN. The closest to Murray walker is a man named David Hobbs with a American chanell called Speed Vision that disapeared from my basic cable TV package years ago.

muzikant · Dec 12, 2020

not expected from Max. hopefully more poles can come next year although i expect merc tomorrow strongly. nothing won yet

Copef1 · Dec 12, 2020

TOONS12 said:
Nope, if two drivers are in the best car, one has to be the better driver right?
It's impossible for both to win the title.
Add in No2 drivers etc and there is your answer.... someone is better than someone else, in the 'same' car. Wow.....exciting...

It is a team sport, the most important people are the engineers and car designers.
Whatever Botta's head might tell him sometimes, he is far far better off having been in the Merc, he'd never have won a race had he not gone there for example...

He got out paced by Russell a week ago, yet he'll be lapping him on Sunday...

Go figure..

Then how do you explain Nico Rosberg, and Alain Prost? They both won titles in the same car when driving with Lewis Hamilton, and Ayrton Senna as their teammates.

Antony Snook · Dec 12, 2020

Jason Chamberlain said:
I think Brundle is a treasure. Of course, he makes some mistakes. It's really interesting to watch some of the races he did with Murray Walker near the end of Murray's career when he was genuinely terrible. And now Brundle has to cover for Croft not knowing which car is which.

My favorite thing with Brundle is to hear him when he's at one of the marshall posts during FP3. It's clear that he still gets a kick out of just seeing F1 cars zoom past him. I remember him reporting from the tunnel in Monaco and he was just beside himself with joy. His depth of knowledge and his joy in the sport really make him entertaining. Plus, I appreciate his dry humor. The line about 'wearing an F1 car" was excellent.

You really need a driver in the box to give perspective. I appreciate the banter among all the former drivers during the practice sessions as well.

Sometimes i think i should do like in the 90's and turn audio off and let the charts do the talking. Its not what the comentary team say, thogh i call BS on some quotes (Your biggest rival is team make as he has same machinery. That is not how F1 works, one driver will have speshal treatment and hide data from team mate i am shore) Why do you think team mates run into each other. They are fighting a battle for respect in team. I am also a advanced fan as i know a lot and the commentators are keeping it simple for casual fans.

fatal4you · Dec 12, 2020

Note to self: Cheer for W11 to reduce drag on RB16

Congrats to Lando for P4.

Also, do you guys notice, Alpha Tauri quite solid this year, often in Q3.

fatal4you · Dec 12, 2020

Merc: Puts on new special livery to honour the team members' contributions.
Lewis' Fans: Whoaaah, rude! Did Lewis even allow this? Doesn't Merc know that only the driver matters?

ZuneGuy · Dec 12, 2020

Alex Harkett said:
Lewis will run and hide again I expect. Pleased Lewis is Covid free now but I was hoping George would get another shot. Roll on 2021. This season has been awful as a fan of the reds.

Well too bad for Russell because it's not car, it's Lewis's car to race. Russell would just end up driving over something again anyway.

TOONS12 · Dec 12, 2020

Copef1 said:
Then how do you explain Nico Rosberg, and Alain Prost? They both won titles in the same car when driving with Lewis Hamilton, and Ayrton Senna as their teammates.

Because its over a season, reliability etc plays a part etc.
Come you know all of this...
Nico was lucky. He was lucky to be in the Merc too as he was a nowhere man before that car.
(caveat being he helped develop it with Michael at least)

That Senna and Prost were both great drivers is undisputable.
That Lewis is a great driver is undisputable.
That Nico and Bottas are? Very debatable...

markg88 · Dec 12, 2020

For me, the best lap in Qually was the one from Lando. That was an awesome lap and I hope is a sign that McLaren will be a stronger force in 2021 with the Merc engine.

fatal4you · Dec 12, 2020

markg88 said:
For me, the best lap in Qually was the one from Lando. That was an awesome lap and I hope is a sign that McLaren will be a stronger force in 2021 with the Merc engine.

Either that or it will become worse for McLaren. I wouldn't have changed engines for 2021 if I were at McLaren. The Renault engine doesn't seem so bad.