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Congrats to Lance Stroll for showing so much maturity for his young age. Regardless if he ever ends up on the podium again in his life, I hope he maintains and even improves that maturity level. Also, very nice to see the Canadian flag on the podium, last time it was July 2001...
As far as Seb, Ham, etc... well, controversy is goooood ! Creates viewership and that can't be a bad thing !!!
I saw that, but the announcers noted how slow Hamilton was coming into that corner and were suggesting he was backing up the behind him to get a advantage on the restart.
Hamilton's race engineer was also reminding him repeatedly about his gap to the safety car was supoose to be 10 car lengths. Lewis had a somewhat arrogent reply to his engineer that he knew that and knew what his gap was.
I thought the same thing that perhaps he lifted and with ther large energy recover from the MGUK made him slow without braking. Also I think Vettel was expecting him to accelerate starting before the apex.
+1, I agree Vettel shouldn't have done it and his anger in races is getting the best of him and creating more problems.
Agree, i was thinking the same thing about it capturing energy (and slowing/gapping the pace car more than necessary causing a backup to give him an advantage on the restart) if he had kept a better head and not hit him he would have won the race and gotten a much larger advantage in the points.
Who could have ever predicted it would take the stewards the same amount of time to call in Lewis to fix his headrest as it would take them to call in Seb for a 10 second penalty? Incredible
Who could have ever predicted it would take the stewards the same amount of time to call in Lewis to fix his headrest as it would take them to call in Seb for a 10 second penalty? Incredible
Agree, i was thinking the same thing about it capturing energy (and slowing/gapping the pace car more than necessary causing a backup to give him an advantage on the restart) if he had kept a better head and not hit him he would have won the race and gotten a much larger advantage in the points.
Most (all?) of the F1 power units have a mode the driver selects to use when on slow laps (parade or safety car) to store up as much energy as possible in the battery with the MGU-K so they have as much electric power for the start.
Remember Rosberg was messing around with the engine mode at the start of the 2016 Spanisg Grand Prix when Lewis and him collided?
He accidentally left it in that "store" mode (which does not use the MGU-K for any electric assist to prevent draining of the battery) for the start and not switched back to a sport hybrid mode (which uses the MGU-K both ways).
Rosberg realized this after the start and frantically messed around with the selector but Hamilton had already gotten beside him since he had the right start mode.
^ forgot to mention but when in "store" mode for the power unit, when the throttle is lifted to idle the MGU-K goes to max generator, so the car slows dramatically especially at slow speeds.
Max Verstappen wasn't a happy camper on Sunday, retiring from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix following another mechanical woe, the fourth in six races.
The Red Bull Racing teenager had been running a confident fourth in the opening stages of the race. But an engine issue forced him into a bitter and disappointing retirement.
Defeated, Verstappen didn't hang around Baku and skipped the mandatory presence in the media pen. In doing so, he contravened Article 19.4 of the Sporting Regulations stipulating that a driver who has failed to finish must report to the press in the designated area.
The 19-year-old's snub cost him a 25,000 euro fine. Ouch!
“I didn’t really feel like [talking] at that moment,” Verstappen later explained to Dutch TV show Peptalk. "I was disappointed already as it was."
Verstappen said that he had been busy with post-race debriefing and then felt that it would be better to leave.
“I stayed at the track for half an hour to talk about the race and the balance of the car with my engineers, and then I left.
"It seemed wise not to respond right away," he said. “I thought it was the smartest thing to do."
He noted that his team mate Daniel Ricciardi's victory had only made his own retirement feel even more like a huge lost opportunity.
"If you look at the positions, then you can easily imagine [winning the race] yourself," said Verstappen.
"In the race I was in such a good position and the team expects me to do my best, so I expect the same from the team," he told Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport Totaal.
So the FIA is opening an investigation into the Vettel incident again. Do you think they will really penalize him more or not? I wouldn't think they would want to as it would risk them being called on as having possibly affected the outcome of the championship.
The in car camera of Vettel when the incident happened showed that his left hand was off the wheel doing a . Could very well be that his other hand was also off the wheel. Maybe with both hands off the wheel the car just lurched right.
y'know F-C, that is exactly what I thought when it happened too. I can't imagine the car just lurching sharply right all by itself if you let your hands off the wheel though. The car would be a bitch to drive if it tended to go right.
I've never driven an F-1 car, so I wouldn't know. Obviously, a road car wouldn't lurch that much. But considering the cars were in a relatively slow speed for what they were designed to do, maybe a slight tap on the gas would cause it to swerve.
Regardless, it was a pretty silly move. I can't imagine it was done on purpose though, as it could have taken himself out.
Race organisers the BRDC will seek a break clause next week in a bid to get a better deal with F1’s new owners
Silverstone’s contract with Formula 1 looks set to be terminated after the 2019 race as the circuit's owners seek to negotiate a better deal for its future.
According to Reuters, the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC), will activate a break clause in their contract with F1 chiefs next week, putting the future of the British Grand Prix into uncertainty.
Formula One Management had reportedly offered to take over the race for five years to secure its future, but this was rejected, as was another by a separate organisation. The BRDC now hopes to secure a better deal with F1’s new owners, Liberty Media.
Its current deal, which was agreed with former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, will charge Silverstone £16.9 million to host this year’s race, with the fee growing by 5% each year. That means it would reach £27.5m at the end of the current contract in 2027.
The BRDC argues that these fees, which it funds without state help unlike many other races, put it at 'ruinous risk'. The club says it currently makes annual losses of between £2-3m to host the race.
Liberty Media has stated its intention to retain classic races, such as the British, French and German grands prix, which have a long history with the sport and formed a crucial part of its formative years. The French Grand Prix is set to return to the calendar next year for the first time since 2008. It will be hosted at Paul Ricard.
The American company is pushing hard to improve the profile of Formula 1. Next week, Lewis Hamilton will be one of several drivers to demonstrate their F1 machinery at London’s Trafalgar Square, a plan initiated to build excitement in the run-up to this year's British Grand Prix on 16 July - and which will doubtless revive headlines about a London Grand Prix.
Silverstone hosted the first ever Formula 1 championship grand prix in 1950. Only Monza in Italy and Monaco have hosted more races.
The FIA mandated a change in the track adding one corner between 1 & the original 2, making 2-3, 3-4, etc.. I'll post up the link when I find it again.
1. Lewis Hamilton Britain Mercedes GP 1:05.975
2. Max Verstappen Netherlands Red Bull-Tag Heuer 1:06.165
3. Valtteri Bottas Finland Mercedes GP 1:06.345
4. Sebastian Vettel Germany Ferrari 1:06.424
5. Daniel Ricciardo Autralia Red Bull-Tag Heuer 1:06.620
6. Kimi Raikkonen Finland Ferrari 1:06.848
7. Stoffel Vandoorne Belgium McLaren-Honda 1:07.283
8. Daniil Kvyat Russia Toro Rosso-Renault 1:07.437
9. Fernando Alonso Spain McLaren-Honda 1:07.510
10. Esteban Ocon France Force India-Mercedes 1:07.511
11. Felipe Massa Brazil Williams-Mercedes 1:07.550
12. Kevin Magnussen Denmark Haas-Ferrari 1:07.594
13. Carlos Sainz Spain Toro Rosso-Renault 1:07.633
14. Jolyon Palmer Britain Renault 1:07.649
15. Lance Stroll Canada Williams-Mercedes 1:08.041
16. Romain Grosjean France Haas-Ferrari 1:08.074
17. Sergey Sirotkin Russia Ranault 1:08.586
18. Alfonso Celis Jr Mexico Force India-Mercedes 1:09.280
19. Pascal Wehrlein Germany Sauber-Ferrari 1:09.323
20. Marcus Ericsson Sweden Sauber-Ferrari 1:10.853
OK, the BRDC (British Racing Drivers' Club, current owners of Silverstone) needs to annul and then renegotiate the contract they signed with Bernie a few years back, simply because the 5% year-on-year escalator clause was and is outrageous and unsustainable (good for F1, shite for the BRDC).
I like the proposal that Liberty purchase Silverstone (where the first F1 championship race was held in 1950) and officially transform it into the spiritual "Home of F1," complete with a museum and other "heritage" attractions/events. This would make Silverstone a sort of F1 Mecca and generate all sorts of revenue streams outside of the race weekend itself. Following this path would dovetail very nicely with Liberty's broader mission of expanding the fan-base and improving the F1 fan experience.