Updated: Formula 1 all seasons thread!

[_Rick_]

Update: With all of four posts in here - let's recycle it for 2020 and beyond! Gotta save the planet!

Original post:

Better Nate than Lever, ey?

With the season starting off with plenty of Snormula 1, the last few races have been somewhat exciting.

I guess there being no thread for this season pretty much sums up everyone's passion for the sport this year.

Great to see both McLaren and Honda coming strong out of their divorce - who would have thought so, three years ago?

 

[kn51]

I have to admit the last few races have been good.

Will be interesting to see where Bottas ends up. Ghastly was a dead man walking.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The last 4 races have been great! I watch every race, have done so for a couple decades now. This season is pretty good so far IMO. Go Hamilton!

 

[_Rick_]

Nice job by Leclerc, especially SMASHING Q3.
Shame about that F2 crash though. Horrible.

 

[_Rick_]

I believe that the ruling against Renault is stupid. Sure, go ahead and forbid the device in the future, but this feels like the potential penalty was purposefully provoked for a race, where Racing Point stood to earn the most points from a Renault DSQ/penalty.

 

[_Rick_]

So, Austria the first - after the snorefest up to the first safety car, this race kind of got going. All it took was three safety cars, one which gimped Mercedes' strategy, and a late resurgence of Charlie L. in his Ferrari.
We had some classic Seb Sbinnala, Hamilton killed Albons race again and pretends it wasn't his fault, and Lando Norris went from sim racing straight to the podium!

Also: Except for Mercedes, it almost appears as though anything could happen between the remaining nine teams. Maybe there's two classes, with Red Bull, McLaren, Racing Point, Ferrari and Renault at the front, and Alfa Tauri, Alfa Romeo, Haas and Williams at the back, but a lot of the difference can be made up by a determined drive or slight error.

It takes everything going wrong for Mercedes not being in a 1-2. A bit depressing, but I'll take this first race, and look forward to some exciting racing for third place!

 

[JulesMaximus]

Albon should know better than to stick a wheel into Hamilton's line by now. Oh well, we will see how it goes this weekend for round two.

 

[_Rick_]

Albon should know better than to stick a wheel into Hamilton's line by now. Oh well, we will see how it goes this weekend for round two.

I'm hoping for some pointed revenge, and Albon just dive bombing Hamilton and spinning him off the road.
Also: apparently we will have some rain to look forward to. Here's hoping rain is on! Of course, it's not going to be the kind of rain we used to get in Malaysia or even Korea...but due to the mountains there still might be some proper downpours, and the rain at Hockenheim last year was pretty awesome!

 

[Zim Hosein]

and the rain at Hockenheim last year was pretty awesome!

There were some nice 360° spins w/ out incident in that race I must say!

 

[Zim Hosein]

Formula 1 adds Mugello and Sochi to revised 2020 F1 race calendar.

We now have a 10 race schedule w/ more locations and dates to be announced soon!

 

[Zim Hosein]

2020 Styrian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton's Pole Lap | Pirelli

 

[Zim Hosein]

Hamilton’s 85th career win & 51st victory from pole position!

 

[_Rick_]

I can't stand Lewis - but that pole lap really made everyone else look like amateurs.
The race itself was pretty boring, but Lando Norris really has some last lap magic at the Österreichring - very impressive, as long as he keeps not crashing

Also: Leclerc really went full retard there. He's in some way similar to Vettel - a genius when it comes to extracting the best from the car, but with just the occasional lapse of judgement and just a little too much bad luck thrown in to the mix. From that point of view, as Ferrari, I'd also look for a more reliable driver to partner him up.

A real shame about Russel being ejected from his mid-field position, but still, this season looks to be a much tighter field, than last year, except for Mercedes almost being as much ahead as they were in 2014...

Ferrari should have a decent chance in Hungary though, with their high corner speeds. Apparently they looked at their engine nerf and instead of trying to work around it, built something like the red Bull of 2010 - insane and reasonably stable downforce, but no top speed at all. That's probably the reason they wanted to add Mugello to the calendar this year, so that there's one GP in Italy that they can potentially win. Because at Monza they'll be fighting for points...

 

[JulesMaximus]

I can't stand Lewis - but that pole lap really made everyone else look like amateurs.
The race itself was pretty boring, but Lando Norris really has some last lap magic at the Österreichring - very impressive, as long as he keeps not crashing

Also: Leclerc really went full retard there. He's in some way similar to Vettel - a genius when it comes to extracting the best from the car, but with just the occasional lapse of judgement and just a little too much bad luck thrown in to the mix. From that point of view, as Ferrari, I'd also look for a more reliable driver to partner him up.

A real shame about Russel being ejected from his mid-field position, but still, this season looks to be a much tighter field, than last year, except for Mercedes almost being as much ahead as they were in 2014...

Ferrari should have a decent chance in Hungary though, with their high corner speeds. Apparently they looked at their engine nerf and instead of trying to work around it, built something like the red Bull of 2010 - insane and reasonably stable downforce, but no top speed at all. That's probably the reason they wanted to add Mugello to the calendar this year, so that there's one GP in Italy that they can potentially win. Because at Monza they'll be fighting for points...

I like Leclerc, hope Ferrari can give him a car capable of winning races next year. I’m not a Vettel fan and I was never a big Schumacher fan either but have mad respect for what he accomplished.

I don’t really understand the Hamilton hate. He seems like a pretty down to earth guy from all the interviews I’ve seen of him and everything I’ve read. I’ve watched his career from his first F1 race with McLaren to today. He’s a massive talent for sure and I count myself as a fan.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Gotten kinda into F1 last season, I'll sub.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Hamilton’s 86th career win, 52nd victory from pole position & fastest lap! What a day in the office!

 

[_Rick_]

And a new lap record thrown in as well.
That Mercedes is insanely strong -at this point, they don't even have to worry about strategy any more...

Strong call by Haas btw, switching to dry tires before the start. Hopefully their two points stand!

 

[ElFenix]

kmag and grosjean each given a 10 second penalty because "having considered the matter extensively, the stewards determined that the team instructed the driver to pit." which apparently constitutes an illegal driver aid.

what a joke

 

[Bubbleawsome]

What are the stewards doing

 

[Zim Hosein]

And a new lap record thrown in as well.
That Mercedes is insanely strong -at this point, they don't even have to worry about strategy any more...

Strong call by Haas btw, switching to dry tires before the start. Hopefully their two points stand!

Hamilton pitting on lap 66 was a gamble but he did lose a championship his rookie year I believe by one point.

 

[_Rick_]

kmag and grosjean each given a 10 second penalty because "having considered the matter extensively, the stewards determined that the team instructed the driver to pit." which apparently constitutes an illegal driver aid.

what a joke

Even worse, they easily gained 25 seconds starting from the pitlane, so penalizing them only 10 of those is still an incentive

 

[JulesMaximus]

Amazing work by the Red Bull team for fixing Max's car on the grid and a good call having Max drive the damaged car to the grid. I'm a fan of Max Verstappen and I would love to see Red Bull give him a car capable of winning races and fighting for championships. I think he is probably the best driver on the grid right now next to Hamilton, maybe even his equal.

Certainly, Red Bull are the best of the rest right now so his best chance is probably with them for the foreseeable future.

 

[Ajay]

Amazing work by the Red Bull team for fixing Max's car on the grid and a good call having Max drive the damaged car to the grid. I'm a fan of Max Verstappen and I would love to see Red Bull give him a car capable of winning races and fighting for championships. I think he is probably the best driver on the grid right now next to Hamilton, maybe even his equal.

Certainly, Red Bull are the best of the rest right now so his best chance is probably with them for the foreseeable future.

I agree. I think Hamilton has a more refined driving style (his precision is outstanding) - he continues to make small improvements each year, even though he's a veteran driver. Max is more fun in that he is more aggressive, his defense against Botas in Hungary was masterful.

If Toyota can bring more power to the table, and RB balance the car better for the race, I think he'd give Hamilton a run for his money. Vettel just can't seem to get on with Ferrari - kind of sad.
Ferrari running mid pack is so disappointing. At least Racing Point and McLaren are showing promising results.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I agree. I think Hamilton has a more refined driving style (his precision is outstanding) - he continues to make small improvements each year, even though he's a veteran driver. Max is more fun in that he is more aggressive, his defense against Botas in Hungary was masterful.

If Toyota can bring more power to the table, and RB balance the car better for the race, I think he'd give Hamilton a run for his money. Vettel just can't seem to get on with Ferrari - kind of sad.
Ferrari running mid pack is so disappointing. At least Racing Point and McLaren are showing promising results.

I think Sainz and Norris are fun to watch. They seem to get along well with each other and fit well within the team.

And it's Honda not Toyota that supplies Red Bull with their engines.

 

[Ajay]

Darn, I was just sitting here hoping I could edit out Toyota on the sly.