While a better than average race by far… to me it was still all about tire degradation. Even Ferrari’s strategy made that the key element of the race. Induce tire deg to Merc/Ham. I wish we could get back to racing and innovation, not shoe wear.

Hamilton said it best in a post race interview (and I can’t stand the guy) “After making up 12 seconds of gap, there is nothing left in the tires so you can’t pass.”

Somehow F1 has become all about Pirelli.

Nice to see Kimi win one at the end of his career.

I enjoyed the race.
The weather was beautiful, and the last three laps were invigorating.
Great for Kimi!

Watching Lewis slide off and get third was a bonus. Verstap being 21 now and being able to drink the champagne was a hoot!

Range Report: 2018 F1 USGP

Finally got through my 3k photos & got the blurry & washed out ones deleted. Will post in the gallery later this week when I can pick some keepers from the remainder & Get them uploaded.

Last year we sat in the T9 bleachers & it was a great spot, as you could see from about T6-T12.
We chose T4 bleachers this year, which gets you views of T2-T6, T12-T13, and T16-T18.
The T4 stands had more views of action, especially in T12, along with a bit in the run up to the esses T3-T5.

We stayed about 1/2 hour away from the track, and overslept on Friday, so we got out of the car when Leclerc red flagged the FP1.
Parking was a mess, lot F was a soggy swamp & there were lots of stuck cars (people didn't read the many signs stating to park with 2 wheels on the paved/gravels parts).
Weather was quite wet on Friday, so FP2 was pretty quiet for the first 45 min or so. The wet conditions made for a mess on a lot of the unpaved walking areas around the track.

Saturday was better, with drier conditions, getting around the track was better, but it was chilly & quite windy (something like a 13mph wind, headwind into T4). We didn't stay for the post track events concert (Bruno Mars).

Sunday was as near a perfect day as we could ask for. Predominantly clear & sunny, temps warming throughout the day.
The Stroll/Alonso event occurred right in front of us, was recording the first pass on lap 1 with my phone & just missed the hit, but caught them sliding off.
I left the T4 stands a little after half-way through the race & made my way over to the pit exit gate & onto the track once the race was over. A quick sprint (I'm way out of shape) down the main straight & I got to about 40yds from the podium.
We didn't stay for the Sunday after-show either (Brittany Spears).

An enjoyable race, a bit moreso than last year, IMO; especially with the nicer temps, last year was a broiler.

I had mentioned that they didn't run the 2-seater, but I think they didn't even have it this year. They had the F1 Hot Laps instead.
I'm assuming the drivers did the laps with the lucky passengers in 6 cars (2 AMG GT-Rs, 2 Mclaren 720S, and 2 Aston Martins).

Last year, each of the teams had their own merchandise booth in the main area around the COTA tower, along with a booth elsewhere around the track, was hoping for that again this year, as they usually have prior season stuff at a discounted price. They also had a lot more non-clothing items (model cars, helmets, etc) there wasn't any of that in this year's big store.
This year, all team/F1/Senna/Pirelli merchandise was in 1 F1 Shop tent, there were a few booths around the track, but they only contained the same stuff that was in the big store & usually only 2 teams in the smaller booths. It was quite crowded, and there were always a few empty racks that hadn't been restocked. Prices also seemed a bit higher than last year.

Looks like next year Mexico & Austin are swapping spots, so the USGP will be 11/1-3. Looking forward to it already & may move to T12 or T15 for that one.

Entertaining enough race, I was most impressed by the massive crowd at the podium. I can't say I've seen anything quite like that except Monza.

Was posted on the prior page from the podium shot.
RBR's driver suits last weekend:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Was posted on the prior page from the podium shot.
RBR's driver suits last weekend:

Perhaps they should spend more on making reliable cars instead of stupid fashion outfits that looked awful. Again Christian Horner blames Renault but they seem to get both cars over the finish line, while Daniel sits out yet again.

Renault made the stuff that has caused the recent problems.
Their cars have been unreliable too recently. Just because they finished this race doesn't mean they haven't had their fair share of problems. Hulkenberg has 5 retirements and Sainz 6 so far this year.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Renault made the stuff that has caused the recent problems.
Their cars have been unreliable too recently. Just because they finished this race doesn't mean they haven't had their fair share of problems. Hulkenberg has 5 retirements and Sainz 6 so far this year.

The interwebs say you’re incorrect. NH had 3 crashes (and only 2 technical retirements) and CS only had one retirement; a crash.

Crashes don’t count as engine failures. However Redbull has 7 (!) technical retirements.

https://www.racefans.net/2018-...tirements-penalties/

Redbull packages very tightly and I remember before season and at testing they were talking about the cooling issues, fitment, etc. Newey's has a great areo package but this "packaging" stresses the components with heat and some different arrangements that impact reliability.

Not new for Redbull...but by this point I'm sure they would have hoped/planned Rennault would have been able to address. I suspect one reason for moving to Honda is that 1)The engine package is a tighter arrangement than other engine suppliers 2)They expect to get better collaboration/cooperation to fit their tight design needs.

We will see...

IIRC, the McLaren had similar 'packaging' issues with the Honda. Their svelte bodywork led to mechanical issues.

Balancing act, slippery as possible while allowing as much cooling as possible. Have to sacrifice one for the other.

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Renault made the stuff that has caused the recent problems.
Their cars have been unreliable too recently. Just because they finished this race doesn't mean they haven't had their fair share of problems. Hulkenberg has 5 retirements and Sainz 6 so far this year.

The interwebs say you’re incorrect. NH had 3 crashes (and only 2 technical retirements) and CS only had one retirement; a crash.

Crashes don’t count as engine failures. However Redbull has 7 (!) technical retirements.

https://www.racefans.net/2018-...tirements-penalties/

True, some of the DNF's have been on track incidents but a lot of problems weren't in the races themselves but practice and qualifying.
There have been many times that the 4 cars (Renault & Redbull) have had to replace components resulting in grid penalties. McLaren have had several too. Riccardo was lucky to finish and hold the lead at Monaco due to a power issue. They even did a preemptive replacement (Italy maybe) before races that would suite their car better like Singapore.
I don't have the exact count but it has been a lot more than Ferrari, Mercedes and their customer teams have had.

Got to love Riccardo stealing the pole from Verstappen. Dr. Marko didn't look pleased at all.
Hamilton and Vettel starting next to each other on the second row.
One thing that could mix things up more would be a little rain tomorrow.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:

quote:

Originally posted by SIGnified:

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Renault made the stuff that has caused the recent problems.
Their cars have been unreliable too recently. Just because they finished this race doesn't mean they haven't had their fair share of problems. Hulkenberg has 5 retirements and Sainz 6 so far this year.

The interwebs say you’re incorrect. NH had 3 crashes (and only 2 technical retirements) and CS only had one retirement; a crash.

Crashes don’t count as engine failures. However Redbull has 7 (!) technical retirements.

https://www.racefans.net/2018-...tirements-penalties/

True, some of the DNF's have been on track incidents but a lot of problems weren't in the races themselves but practice and qualifying.
There have been many times that the 4 cars (Renault & Redbull) have had to replace components resulting in grid penalties. McLaren have had several too. Riccardo was lucky to finish and hold the lead at Monaco due to a power issue. They even did a preemptive replacement (Italy maybe) before races that would suite their car better like Singapore.
I don't have the exact count but it has been a lot more than Ferrari, Mercedes and their customer teams have had.

If you go back to page 38, I did an overview of failures through 12 races. Sure, Renault have a higher failure rate as a powertrain, but when you remove Red Bull from the mix, they are on par with Mercedes and Ferrari, and well in front of Honda. I have come to the conclusion that Red Bull's aero package is leading to an increased rate of technical failure.

This is not new however, and can be traced back to 2009 when Red Bull was having brake issues. They blames Brembo, who were providing brakes to I believe six other teams, and did not have nearly the failure rate that Red Bull had. They threw Brembo under the bus, and switched. Was a brake issue - no it was a cooling/ aero issue, but it was easy to blame somebody else.

I'll give credit where credit is due - they have great downforce (likely thanks to Adrian Newey), but I think it creates a cooking problem for the battery, air intake, radiator cooling and other.

So what was that about Renault power again?

Every team runs the minimum cooling to minimize drag. The Renault power unit is now arguably the slowest. Over 7 mph down on the straight in the most slippery car with the best cornering and exit speed.

Red Bull is the only Renault engine car that runs anywhere near the other front runners. They have won races this year, in fact the only Renault engines to have won in many years. They are usually a lap ahead of the next Renault engine during the race.

Lots of tire deg in Mexico yesterday. Looked to be more than expected.
Danny Ric just can't catch a break.
Curious if the FI debris was what retired Alonso?

Overall a good race, IMO.

Alonso did get debris in his right side radiator duct. That's why I didn't mention him in the Renault issues. Just bad luck.
Pretty good race though.
Looks like F1 needs at least two tire stops to make it interesting. One is just too predictable.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
Alonso did get debris in his right side radiator duct. That's why I didn't mention him in the Renault issues. Just bad luck.
Pretty good race though.
Looks like F1 needs at least two tire stops to make it interesting. One is just too predictable.

I never heard any confirmation (or I missed it) a part from the obvious end plate on the front of the side pod.
Shame to have the DNFs is his potential last season.

The 2 & 3 stop strategies definitely made for a more interesting race. Crazy to only have 5 cars on the lead lap, and a few lapped twice.

How exciting ... tyre mgmt. Yay!

Nothing to lose, Yas Marina should be a fun one. Hopefully they go full out with it.

Am I the only who watched the race and came to the conclusion the crash was Max's fault? I am struggling to understand why he could not let a back-marker, with 26 kph more straight-line speed, DRS, and 15 lap fresher (softer tires) to un-lap himself. Then he cries about it to the camera, tries to start a fight with the other drive at weigh in (which F1 hilariously tweets moments later), then swears in an interview before walking off stage during trophy interviews.

What a phenomenal douchebag.

I hope the FIA kicks him in the taint and tells him to grow the funk up.