Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Oct 5, 2018 21:14:01 GMT
Cheers Dirty. This is a great photo via the link
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Oct 6, 2018 8:31:59 GMT
No ones messing with Lewis round this track. The geezer is the best round here. Suzuka is such a great place😎
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Post by Gene Hunt on Oct 6, 2018 10:24:15 GMT
Great quali which again underlined the fact that Lewis is the best driver of this era. Vettel has gone to pieces. He couldn't keep the car on the track today in quali. Watch out for Verstappen again in the race. The kid is a future Champion. No doubt.
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Del Boy
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Post by Del Boy on Oct 6, 2018 11:56:22 GMT
Absolutely agree with all of that Gene. I wonder how quick Verstappen would be in a Merc. I think we will find out in the not to distant.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 15, 2018 8:52:54 GMT
Finally caught up with the last two races at Russia and Japan as our brilliant 4.3tv meet clashed with one of them recently.
I know it’s pretty much done and dusted but first of all well done to Lewis for pulling off two dominant (if perhaps one was controversial) wins. Yes no one is a fan of team orders and you can argue all you want about Mercedes tactics in Russia but switching Hamilton and Bottas was the right thing to do. Can understand Bottas being a bit annoyed at doing this but lets be honest he knows he’s Mercedes No 2 driver and simply hasn’t matched Hamilton’s performances this season and this is probably as good as it will get for Bottas and I’m sure the likes of Ocon etc. would fill these shoes very easily. Also let’s say if things didn’t go well in Japan or we see the Merc’s have a couple of DNF’s then Vettel and Ferrari are back in the hunt and it’s still game on all the way to Abu Dhabi. Hamilton’s drive at Suzuka was class and like or loathe the guy out of the car (personally don’t know him so can’t judge him either way) you can’t deny he’s at the peak of his career at the moment. Yes as mentioned by the media he could very well surpass Schumi’s race win record… only 20 odd or so to go so very easily achieved if he and Mercedes maintain this level of performance for the next two seasons. Yes it’s not a done deal yet but very nearly is, Lewis has fully deserved his titles this year and in 2017. He’s also not had it as easy as you think more to do with Merc making a fair few strategy cock up’s these last few seasons and perhaps at certain times in the season not having the faster car compared to Ferrari but they’ve kept at it, chipped away and made the most of things unlike Ferrari and Vettel who especially this season have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory with chaotic team tactics and discipline and erratic/petulant driving when things aren’t going their way.
I do strongly feel that it’s a shame this season’s title battle didn’t remain as close as it was up to say Hungary and Spa and I do want someone to have given Hamilton/Mercedes much more of a challenge these last few years but as good as Vettel is – and he’s very, very good IMO, he’s not as good as Lewis when it comes to being an all round package and loses his head too much when things don’t go his way. Yes Vettel did okay in Sochi doing perhaps all he could to fend off a revitalised Mercedes and Quali in Suzka wasn’t really his fault either – Ferrari screwing up again but again it’s no good pulling off a decent start in the race to then come wheel to wheel with the top end talent like Verstappen this time and pull a risky move which all too often this season see’s Vettel come off worse and have to fight back through the field with a damaged car and again heaps more pressure and media scrutiny on you. Ferrari have also really screwed up this season. First of all is team orders but this time not being clear and consistent with Vettel and Räikkönen unlike Mercedes has counted against them before you factor in the many errors the team has made this season. Then there’s the way the team have handled Räikkönen’s departure too. Should never have been done like it was on the eve of their most important race at Monza as what would you expect Kimi to do race day when he’s driven as well as he’s ever done this season and been fairly complaint and assisting to Vettel in the (then) title battle this season. Maybe Leclerc deserves his 2019 seat and yes he was Sergio Marchionne’s choice before he died in July. But the handling of Kimi’s departure could have been handled much better and smoother than it was – if we’re being honest Kimi’s been seriously messed around during the summer. If they were more up front with him perhaps he’d have been more of a compliant No 2 for Seb and also given more advice to assist Ferrari in the battle with Mercedes unlike the implosion which has happened since. The buck stops with Maurizio Arrivabene who it was rumoured a season or so ago has a set-two with Vettel to the point one or the other had to leave! That seems to have settled down and there are glimpse’s of them being the force they were in the Schumacher era but all too often things seem to go spectacularly wrong when they shouldn’t for Ferrari and after two similar seasons it may be time for a change. Arrivabene may be off to Juventus anyway so a change at Ferrari may be necessary anyway but I do feel with the car they’ve had in 2017-18 with say Alonso instead of Vettel and Stefano Domenicali as team principal they’d have got much more closer and perhaps beaten Hamilton/Mercedes to at least one of the two titles they’ve been battling. Personally I quite liked Domenicali when he was at Ferrari and he was a hell of a lot more open with the media than Arrivabene and held his hands up to the mistakes he made unlike Arrivabene who disappears in a sulk when things go wrong. I know it’s all what if’s… but Ferrari should be better placed than where they are now and we should expect changes at Ferrari in 2019 if they don’t want a repeat of these last 2-3 seasons.
That doesn’t take away the job, hard work and effort Lewis and Mercedes have put in in 2017-18 when at times they looked on the back foot. If anything as I said earlier they’ve dug deep and exploited every opportunity they’ve had to beat their rivals!
Enough Merc and Ferrari I’ve been impressed with Verstappen’s drives in the latter half of this season. Yes still a bit aggressive at times but he’s done what Vettel really should have done soaked up the pressure/criticism and turned it around with some decent results and a win recently. I know he’s Renault bound but shame Ricciardo’s performances (mainly car related) have dropped off at Red Bull. Can fully sympathise with his quali reaction at Suzuka but I’m not sure Renault’s the right ship for him to jump to considering they’ve gone way off the boil recently. Big shame Toro Rosso didn’t quite get the same race pace at Suzuka they had in qualifying but it must be encouraging that the Honda is (finally) showing some good pace and performance. Big if, if it can develop further and in the hands of a Adrian Newey designed chassis and drivers like Verstappen could give Mercedes and Ferrari a run for their money next season. I bet McLaren are kicking themselves ditching Honda now considering their customer Renault engines and Alonso’s departure hasn’t really done them any good and also good to see Brendon Hartley do a decent qualifying too and maybe with some more performance he’d be a steady Top 10 driver – albeit perhaps a not spectacular one. Reckon it’s between Haas and Renault for best of the rest but don’t discount a surge from Force India and the positions from McLaren to Sauber could easily change if one team has a brilliant race another a shocker and with a few scruffy drives by Hulkenburg, Alonso, Leclerc, Magnussen, Ericsson, Sirtokin, Perez and Ocon recently it's very easy to go from hero to zero in this midfield pack.
Next up Austin. Barring a bag of spanners being dropped into Hamilton’s Mercedes and likewise Ferrari showing their dominance again like they did in the spring/summer it’s all but done for Lewis’s 5th title. I think he’ll clinch it there at a track he likes and has raced well in the past. Maybe Vettel/Ferrari will win but I feel it’s putting off the inevitable and being honest if Lewis doesn’t win it at Austin he’ll probably wrap it all up in Mexico a week later. And fully deserved it is too!
Still I’m not switching off just yet and with perhaps all that pressure removed should hopefully see some interesting racing and battles in the last three or so races of the 2018 season.
Bring it on!
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Post by Gene Hunt on Oct 15, 2018 11:12:26 GMT
An enjoyable read DE and opinions that I fully agree with. Ferrari and Vettel have imploded. It all began when Vettel slipped off the track at his home GP in Germany after a drop of rain. I have always said that Vettel knows how to win a race from the front, but doesn't have the necessary mindset to make the win happen when he has to overtake the front runners. He can cut through the field from the back (overtaking much slower cars) but when pitched against the likes of Ricciardo, Verstappen or Hamilton, he bottles it. Note that I did not mention Bottas there for the simple reason that I don't think Bottas has the killer instinct needed either and just like Vettel, finds it easier to win from the front rather than make his way there.
Time for Arrivabene to go I think. He pointedly blamed a lack of experience in his team at Japan with the quali cock ups. I'm sure the team won't appreciate him hanging out the dirty washing in public either.
I'm still looking forward to the remaining races. Hopefully Lewis can wrap it up in Texas but as you say, it is a matter of time surely. Love him or loathe him, there is no denying that he is one of the best there has ever been. I don't judge these people for how they behave out of the car. I judge them on their race craft and I can't see anyone anywhere near Hamilton at the moment.
Gene.
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 20, 2018 10:25:18 GMT
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 20, 2018 19:20:44 GMT
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 20, 2018 22:09:32 GMT
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Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 21, 2018 19:50:20 GMT
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