As I understand, there's a pit lane max speed of 80 kph but no minimum. There is essentially a fast lane and Ricciardo's in-car showed him slowed by Hamilton who had room to the right to let DR past.

The safety car forced everyone into the pits for tires, there was always going to be a stack up at Merc with Lew Lew second in line. Vettel got lucky getting his tires ahead of them, just the opposite of getting screwed by the safety car last race.

Merc dropped the ball on Bottas' stop, Hammy's wasn't much better. That's on Merc but Hamilton definitely impeded DR coming in.

And yes, no doubt Vettel was controlling the pace, no guarantees the LH would have been there without the five second penalty.

A good race, pretty much three for three so far. Looking to be a far more fun season than we've seen for some time, Hamilton vs Rosberg being only so interesting.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:
Looking to be a far more fun season than we've seen for some time, Hamilton vs Rosberg being only so interesting.

Bahrain 2014 was fireworks, but I'm glad I got tickets to this year's USGP. Can't wait for October!

Just got back from a long trip and watched the Bahrain race. Great action - glad to see the season competitive!

And P250UA5 I'll be at the USGP this year as well! I went to the first one, looking forward to going back.

Just got back in town after roofers were here, Directv satellite is no longer aligned. Really hopeful I can get someone out today in order to see practice, no later than SAT afternoon!!!

quote:

Originally posted by furlough:
And P250UA5 I'll be at the USGP this year as well! I went to the first one, looking forward to going back.

I'll likely be solo on Friday & my wife will be flying in for Saturday/Sunday.

Good news, T wings and shark fins will be banned in 2018.

Link

The quali results make me happy.

Hard to believe it's been since 2008 for the last red front row.

I still think he's a giant British cock underneath it all, but wow(!!) has Hamilton gotten his image and message more professional.

I'm not buying his British Eddie Haskell routine either. His failure to follow team orders and his last ditch attempt to jam up Rosberg in Abu Dhabi last year, showed what a POS he really is.

quote:

Originally posted by oilpatch29:
I'm not buying his British Eddie Haskell routine...

Works for me, HaskelLew!

If you've fooled around with any racing sims, you may be familiar with a ghost car. You watch a replay of your run and you also see another car's run superimposed like a ghost for comparison.

Some years back I'd seen some ghost comparisons of Lew and others' runs. He has had a distinct advantage on slow speed turns, consistently getting through them faster and, of course, exiting with more speed.

I have to take heart in the Merc's poor slow speed performance this year, even Lew's skills can't overcome it, so far. Of course, there's always a chance that not being a spring chicken any more, Lew is losing an edge. I doubt it, this year could be one for the ages.

What a race!

Yeah was good, too bad Massa does his usual in screwing things up.

good race and yet again Massa showed what an asshole he is

Hamilton a distant 4th is fine by me

I must have seen a different race. Not one pass for position except for cars having problems. Not even challenges. Ferraris not starting so well this year, the race was probably lost at the start. If that didn't seal their fate, Vettel's last pit stop was a good second over what it should be. That extra second over the last 20+ laps would have been handy.

It all fell into place for Bottas today. Of course the great start. A track that really suits him. Low abrasion surface allows for a one stopper so Merc's tire wear less a problem. And, yeah, Massa, right time, right place.

Lets see if this gets Bottas some more momentum.
He's out qualified Lewis in two out of four and now both have a win.
Most predicted Lewis would own him and he would just be a solid number two at best.
Nice to see a guy win without the huge ego too.
Interesting that Finland has produced so many quality drivers from such a small country.

Eddie Jordan - making people uncomfortable the world over, and not just with his shirts and jackets!

That was a great race. Bottas earned it from lap 1, and Massa was perfect, especially with crybaby Vettel. He didn't do anything wrong and let him pass on the next straight.

As for Alonso, with Honda sucking so bad and Renault making a move for him, is there anything keeping him going back to Ferrari? He got forced out by Mario Mattaicci who then got promptly fired and replaced by Arrirabene. Kimi is not getting things done, especially with what they're paying him a year, and both his and Alonso's contracts are up. I know which one I'd want if a had a ton of money and anything to make that bitch Vettel on his toes works for me.

Glad to see Bottas get win #1! Lightning start for sure & it worked perfectly for him the last few laps. Vettel getting caught up by the slow traffic at the end really sealed it. IIRC, he'd closed it to 0.6s at the finish.

Seemed odd that Alonso just stopped just prior to pit entry, curious that he couldn't coast the car further, if he was only having ERS issues?

FWIW The track sets up for Bottas to do what he did at the start. Vettel and he got off pretty much identically. A long run to the first turn, a shallow right hander followed by a tighter left. Bottas and Vettel on the clean side, Bottas gets a tow from that long run and is on the inside line by the second turn, game over.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:
I must have seen a different race. Not one pass for position except for cars having problems. Not even challenges...

Yeah, that's the same race I saw. Bottas won the drag race, then went virtually unchallenged. Of course, Mercedes was bound to respond to Ferrari's challenge by increasing their own capabilities, but alternating wins between the two teams for the whole season still doesn't make it interesting.

I'm dead certain that I'd feel much different, though, if Vettel and Raikkonen finished one - two rather than two - three.

Watching Hamilton finish fourth was better than a DNF, wasn't it? He just couldn't cut the mustard this time, and knowing Mercedes, I'd bet it's Hamilton's fault rather than the Team's.