2018 Formula One Thread

OGG said:
I thought (and hoped) that Vettel's nail biter overtake on Hamilton would stick, but the Mercs are just too damned fast on the straights, and with DRS activated they can rocket past any other car out there. That thing has disgusting speed compared to the rest of the pack.

LeClerc is slowly but surely making the Scuderia bosses look like geniuses. That kid has the goods and isn't a total spaz like other recent proteges a la Verstappen.

Pretty much time to start thinking about 2019. Will anyone finally find the speed to truly challenge the Silver Arrows? Will Vettel lose his shit the first time LeClerc out qualifies him? Will Kimi Raikkonen be responsible for the single best full season of in-car radio snippets ever? Will Danil Kaviat surprise us all by demonstrating maturity and poise, or will he make Crashtor Maldonado look like Ayrton Senna?

More pedals than the Tour De France
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I think Leclerc will show up Vettel. That kid is quick, and he has ice in his veins.

Kviat got the ride because Red Bull ran out of available upstart drivers to stuff into Scuderia Torro Rosso, but he will no doubt be better than Hartley. It will be interesting to see how Gasly stacks up against Max.

TBH something tells me 2019 and 2020 won't be very exciting. With the changes to the aero package next year, it will undoubtedly increase the separation between the teams as they start from scratch again. Then 2020 will be a lame duck season again as the big changes are coming for 2021 (and we don't even know what teams will be there in 2021). Additionally all the "cost cutting" measures of restricting the number of engines and trasmissions used has taken away what was once the greatest aspect of F1 of continually developing every part of the car.

I even found myself fast forwarding through qualifying and the race yesterday. I'm starting to lose interest a bit.
 
Verstappen was the only interesting part of the race, but that only lasted 8 laps.

I hadn't heard that Toro Rosso rehired Kvyat. I'm not expecting much.

One thing they really need to do something about for the future is the stupid engine/gearbox grid penalties. Six drivers in the Sochi race had penalties. Ridiculous.
 
I've said it before, Kimi is fast. Today Ferrari had to deal with it after Crashtor Vettel took himself out again. Kimi got a raw deal from the team his entire time there. I wish Kimi was going to a competitive team where he could show how good he still is. Guess we'll wait another race before crowning a WDC.
 
Once again the USGP puts on an exciting race. It really is a testament to the excellent design of the track.

That said it was still a struggle for them to pass each other. They really need to reduce the aero dependence of the cars for grip.
 
KIMI!!!!!!!!

THAT. WAS. AWESOME!

Exciting race, some really fun skirmishes, the usual clusterfuck involving Verstappen... but it was all about Kimi taking them all to school one last time. Lewis had no answers for Kimi. Kimi straight up brutalized him all day long. No one has better defensive skills than Raikkonen does. Probably the only guy out there that can hold off a faster car without making an illegal double move. He makes his car as wide as the track. Epic show!
 
Wow, an actual exciting race with the entire podium in question until the end! I never thought Verstappen would be able to hold off Hamilton, but he acquitted himself well. As usual, Vettel fucked himself again.

Major congrats to Kimi!
 
Flatspotter said:
Wow, an actual exciting race with the entire podium in question until the end! I never thought Verstappen would be able to hold off Hamilton, but he acquitted himself well. As usual, Vettel fucked himself again.

Major congrats to Kimi!
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Further proof that Hamilton is a great driver, but a shitty racer. It's all good when he has the pole and the fastest car. As long as he gets through turn one first, he's untouchable, make him have to fight for position and he's screwed. I'm honestly surprised he didn't crash out like so many times before when driving for McLaren. The Red Bull cars had no business being "faster" than the Mercs on that track. Hamilton was so desperate that he nearly lost it several times.

If Fernando Alonso had Lewis' car, he'd have probably won that race.
 
Verstappen makes his car very wide. He is one of the best defenders I have ever seen. That last ditch effort was cool, but there's too much marbles on the outside of the corners to have enough grip. Max held the perfect line to defend his position despite being very worn out tires.

Hamilton was playing the long game, rather than take an unnecessary risk. It shows tremendous maturity on his part, much different than his McLaren days. If he'd taken his 2nd stop a few laps sooner I think he would have finished in 2nd. He lost too much ground with that late stop and used up his tires closing the gap.

Kimi drove a perfect race and Ferrari nailed the strategy for a change. He won the race from the starting line taking advantage of his grippier tires. But he cemented the victory by holding Hamilton behind him right before his stop.
 
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I can't wait until next year when Leclerc is in a fast car. If Honda can pull their heads out of their asses and give Red Bull a competitive engine, Verstappen could be fighting for wins regularly. I'd love to see him and Leclerc showing Hamilton and Vettel how it's done.
 
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I'm really looking forward to seeing Leclerc in that Ferrari next year. He is a very quick, but very smart driver. He reminds me a bit of Alonso. He can extract 110% of the cars pace, yet he has very good race craft and knows how to play the strategy game during the race.
 
It doesn't matter how fast Leclerc is. All Ferrari will do with him is use him as a roadblock for Vettel. Ferrari is totally committed to Vettel and I don't believe they will go to co-number 1s.
 
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Nice drive by Verstappen in Mexico. Too bad he missed out on his first pole. Poor Captain Smiley can't buy a break. Hopefully he'll have better luck next year.
 
So, what do we all think about the announcement of a 2020 GP in Hanoi?

The circuit looks insane! Those two super long straights are going to see some epic DRS battles and overtakes. Interesting layout in that car set up strategy will be a serious challenge and a huge gamble. Do you go for max downforce for the tight twisty bits, low drag for those long straights, or try to balance the two?

I honestly think the twisties are so tight, and the straight sections so long, that you have to minimize downforce and just hang on for dear life in the turns. Stretch your legs long enough in those straights to keep the wolves at bay.
 
The long straights are the only thing that keeps the racing interesting, since it gives the car behind enough time to get a good tow to go for a pass. Baku seems to have worked out well with this method, so I expect the races here to be very exciting.
 
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I hadn't seen the track map until just now, but it looks interesting. A lot depends on how wide the track is. Turn one looks like it could be trouble at the start of the race.
 
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That was a great race, except for fucking Ocon. Verstappen probably should have given him a little more room, but he reasonably expected Ocon to back off. Shoving Ocon after the race was not acceptable, and he should be punished for that.
 
It was a great race. Ocon certainly chose poorly in trying to unlap himself. Max hate being passed by anyone, and while fighting for a position that is an admirable trait, it is completely unnecessary if a backmarker is trying to unlap himself. But given that Ocon's banzai move cost him a victory, I don't blame him for losing his cool after the race. Besides Ocon acted like a total dick when he confronted him.

I can't believe that Ferrari are keeping Vettel over Raikonnen. He really has shown great consistency this year. The only reason he is behind Vettel in the points is that Ferrari screwed him on strategy in quite a few races this year. It will be interesting to see what Sauber have up their sleeve next year. I have a hard time believing that he would sign up for a team unless they had some plan and/or deal to very competitive (Ferrari cough cough).

Congrats to Mercedes on another constructors championship, and this one was well earned since Ferrari gave them a run for their money at the start of the year.

I'm not even sure if I will watch Abu Dhabi. There is nothing on the line, and it is usually a very dull race.
 
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