2018 United States Grand PrixFormula 1 

baldgye
Weird, you’d think they would put their jr driver in that spare seat instead of half a driver
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This Mercedes team has turned into the 2000-2004 Ferrari team. A clear number 1 and 2, no hesitating to pull team orders when they already have a massive lead, and by far the strongest group as a team to boot. It's a far cry from the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry and it's not exactly a bad idea given they're fighting another team, especially one that has a similar number 1 and 2 driver structure, but for whatever reason this current Ferrari team isn't as quick to rush to team orders. Should be interesting next year though with Vettel and Leclerc potentially stealing points from each other and Hamilton won't quite have his teammate doing the same. Perhaps it gives Ferrari a better shot at the constructors' title, but not necessarily the drivers' title.
 
Conquerer
This Mercedes team has turned into the 2000-2004 Ferrari team. A clear number 1 and 2, no hesitating to pull team orders when they already have a massive lead, and by far the strongest group as a team to boot. It's a far cry from the Hamilton-Rosberg rivalry and it's not exactly a bad idea given they're fighting another team, especially one that has a similar number 1 and 2 driver structure, but for whatever reason this current Ferrari team isn't as quick to rush to team orders. Should be interesting next year though with Vettel and Leclerc potentially stealing points from each other and Hamilton won't quite have his teammate doing the same. Perhaps it gives Ferrari a better shot at the constructors' title, but not necessarily the drivers' title.
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I mean, they have a world class driver who’s the best of his generation and one of the greatest drivers to have ever lived, and a decent mid-tier driver.

While I was being obtuse... The reason they re-signed Bottas was because early in the season he was mostly keeping up with Lewis. But too often he just does a Kimi and goes nowhere and isn’t valuable to anyone... while it ultimately didn’t matter this race, the fact Vettel finished 5 seconds ahead of him and Max went from p18 to a podium ahead of him, when they were on the same number of stops... is insane
 
I was honestly convinced after Monza and the Sauber announcement (whichever came first again) that Kimi's career would end in a similar whimper to Bobby Rahal's, a long unresolved winless streak in cars that would've had the potential to do the job. I guess this is the sort of crow that I don't mind eating though.
 
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These comments are almost prothetic

GTFan24
WOWWWW HAMILTON WINS POLE! WHO COULD'VE PREDICTED THIS ****ING OUTCOME!!! SO DAMN EXCITING I WONDER WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TOMORROW!!!!




🤬 this season.
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FutureF1
2018 was my first year watching the full indycar schedule... Every weekend there was a race I'd be hyped and looking forward to it all day. For F1 now it's just a total chore to watch. I need to try and keep myself entertained while the procession goes on. I love the technology and glory of F1, but if you want to watch racing, F1 is not for you
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baldgye
I mean, they have a world class driver who’s the best of his generation and one of the greatest drivers to have ever lived, and a decent mid-tier driver.

While I was being obtuse... The reason they re-signed Bottas was because early in the season he was mostly keeping up with Lewis. But too often he just does a Kimi and goes nowhere and isn’t valuable to anyone... while it ultimately didn’t matter this race, the fact Vettel finished 5 seconds ahead of him and Max went from p18 to a podium ahead of him, when they were on the same number of stops... is insane
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Yeah, I agree. It's kind of a joke, but tbqh I don't have a strong opinion on it. They know exactly what they get with Bottas, which is a really strong Hamilton who doesn't get challenged by his teammate, which is maybe a good thing which allows him to raise him game to fight Vettel. But at the same time, it kinda sucks for the team to have a driver fail to perform so regularly. In the spirit of F1, I don't like Bottas at Mercedes because he doesn't belong there. It's pretty much the same thing with Kimi at Ferrari too. He won today and that's great, but it doesn't erase his failures and lacklustre performances of the rest of the year and the past. I'm happy to see Ferrari change the old guard and go with a young talent like Leclerc to go alongside Vettel, and I suspect he will give him way more of a headache than Raikkonen ever could. But I think someone like Ocon deserves that seat at Mercedes where Bottas is just a fiddle to be played for Hamilton's championship hopes. It's a shame, really.
 
sumbrownkid
So is it likely Lewis wraps up title in Mexico again?
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By my calculations Hamilton needs one 8th place finish in the remaining three races to secure the title no matter what Vettel does. So wrapping up the WDC in Mexico is very likely.

Edit: Apologies, one 7th place finish.
 
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Conquerer
Yeah, I agree. It's kind of a joke, but tbqh I don't have a strong opinion on it. They know exactly what they get with Bottas, which is a really strong Hamilton who doesn't get challenged by his teammate, which is maybe a good thing which allows him to raise him game to fight Vettel. But at the same time, it kinda sucks for the team to have a driver fail to perform so regularly. In the spirit of F1, I don't like Bottas at Mercedes because he doesn't belong there. It's pretty much the same thing with Kimi at Ferrari too. He won today and that's great, but it doesn't erase his failures and lacklustre performances of the rest of the year and the past. I'm happy to see Ferrari change the old guard and go with a young talent like Leclerc to go alongside Vettel, and I suspect he will give him way more of a headache than Raikkonen ever could. But I think someone like Ocon deserves that seat at Mercedes where Bottas is just a fiddle to be played for Hamilton's championship hopes. It's a shame, really.
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Bottas is going to have to seriously reset for next year if he wants to hold onto that seat, I think Ocon will get it without issue if Bottas isn’t pushing his limits. I’m thinking of Bahrain this year, he could have lunged Vettel and you’d imagine almost all of the top drivers would have...

I don’t think Mercedes are interested in having a number 1 and 2, which was clear with the Nico vs Lewis years. So I can’t see them hesitating to sign Ocon

PzR Slim
By my calculations Hamilton needs one 8th place finish in the remaining three races to secure the title no matter what Vettel does. So wrapping up the WDC in Mexico is very likely.
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Isn’t that the exact same as last year?
 
baldgye
Isn’t that the exact same as last year?
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Not quite. Hamilton went into that race with a 66-point lead, needing a 5th place finish to secure the title. Bear in mind it was a 20-race calendar in 2017.

He ended up 9th whilst Vettel could only manage 4th.
 
Ocon could be DSQ’d due to fuel flow irregularities... KMag now too




Ocon and KMag both DQ’d due to illegal fuel flow
 
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So, I haven't seen this here soo...

For Vettel to win the WDC, he needs to win ALL three races and have Hamilton not score more than five points in the next three races.

For Hamilton to do the same, he needs to finish 7th in any of the three races left and we all know that's not going to happen.
 
CinnamonOD
So, I haven't seen this here soo...

For Vettel to win the WDC, he needs to win ALL three races and have Hamilton not score more than five points in the next three races.

For Hamilton to do the same, he needs to finish 7th in any of the three races left and we all know that's not going to happen.
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Imagine him placing 8th in Mexico and then DNF the next two. Would be hilariously miraculous. But yeah, thanks to the efficiency of Mercedes, Ham has this in the bag. I really like Mercedes as a team, even if Ham is my least favorite and Bottas is sort of in the middle for me.
 
If Hamilton somehow lost the championship it would be worse then 2007, but it's not going to happen if he finishes a race he will be 6th at minimum pretty much.
 
Jimlaad43
Did anyone else just here a bloke shouting "neeyooww neeyoowww"?
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Carbon_6
Who’s that making the race car noises? :confused::D

Also Ricciardo’s stopped. :indiff:
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Robin
Is someone making F1 noises in the commentary box next to C4's one?! :lol:
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Robin
Must have been someone extremely enthusiastic standing next to the track microphones :lol:
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My theory is that a VIP's kid got a ride in the helicopter. It was all during the helicopter shots.
 
Conquerer
for whatever reason this current Ferrari team isn't as quick to rush to team orders.
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On other occassions, perhaps it's to put pressure on Sebastian to deliver. And yes, that's rather odd considering Ferrari's history. But in this case, I think they also needed Kimi up there keeping Hamilton from winning.

Brend
It’s ironic that Hamilton is sponsored by Gran Turismo because Bottas is the very definition of a ‘B spec driver’. No drive, no motive, just sorta there.
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That's not fair. My buddy Bob Spector was a respected motoring journalist once upon a time!
 
Good race from what I saw. Unfortunately my stomach decided it was the perfect time to be really sick and hurt and all things.
 
Congrats to Kimi! Clearly he's not quite pushing as hard as in the old McLaren days, but I believe his natural talent and speed is still one of the highest in F1. Him and Alonso are the last 2 old school drivers that I still support. The rest are somewhat becoming more and more meh with every year that I follow F1. Not even Lewis, Vettel, Max or Ricciardo incites the same passion in me. Leclerc is the next one to watch but the feeling is still not the same. Since Alonso is leaving he'll be the only one left next year. It'll be a sad day when he decides enough is enough.

From Kimi's instagram, if anyone hasn't noticed, this (likely last) win also came on the exact same date as his first F1 maiden title (21 October). Quite a nice coincidence coming full circle 👍
 
mustafur
The end of it was for Hamilton, he basically had the championship before the infamous pit stop at Shanghai.
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I mean, he didn't win the title... but he still beat his double reigning world champion team mate, in his rookie year...

I've heard from various sauces that Mclaren were not allowed to win either title after Spy-gate, which is what caused Lewis's gearbox issue in Brazil (which without he also would have won the title)... though nothing on the record, yet
 
baldgye
I mean, he didn't win the title... but he still beat his double reigning world champion team mate, in his rookie year...

I've heard from various sauces that Mclaren were not allowed to win either title after Spy-gate, which is what caused Lewis's gearbox issue in Brazil (which without he also would have won the title)... though nothing on the record, yet
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I wasn't referring to any of that, it was clearly about Missed Title chances, and while it was Hamilton's rookie year(and a damn impressive one at that) the end of 2007 was a blunder for him whether you like it or not.

Insane unproven conspiracy theories not counted.
 
mustafur
I wasn't referring to any of that, it was clearly about Missed Title chances, and while it was Hamilton's rookie year(and a damn impressive one at that) the end of 2007 was a blunder for him whether you like it or not.

Insane unproven conspiracy theories not counted.
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Eh, missed chances... I think that was down to the team more than him, China not pitting him until his tyres had literally died.
Though I'm not sure why that rather popular rumour that has been perpetuated by many well respected F1 journalists is 'insane'...
 

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