agdamis

gbuff

Does the team ALWAYS come first, as it always has and probably always will? Yes.

Did VB get hosed? Yes.

And I disagree that, while Lewis can be and has been a sac l'*****, he wasn't genuine and forthright with VB. He sang V's praises in the interviews, he took him up on the top step of the podium and he tried to give him the first-place trophy up there.

Suzuka in six days.....move on, quickly.

Gary

Manifold

There are competing objectives and perspectives going on.

You have competitions for that particular race, driver's championship, and constructor's championship. On this day, the first was somewhat sacrificed for the second.

Regarding opinions on Hamilton, they depend on whether you look at his entire personal history (on and off the track), his history as a driver, his behavior during and after this particular race, etc. On this day, he behaved well, but in the past he's been a real d!ck, as when he tried to back up his team mate Rossberg, against team orders, in order to win the driver's championship. He's undeniably one of the best drivers, but sometimes (not always) sorely lacking as a sportsman and a person.

jlanka

Can someone venture a guess as to why Max's lap times were worse after he pitted and put on Ultra softs? (I think they were Ultras)? Was it because he now had dirty air? Other reasons?

Akunob

Well said, I couldn't agree more.

DTMiller

I've not seen any discussion of it but it could be that they pushed for a lap and realized there weren't enough laps left to catch anyone and they just dialed back the engine to preserve it. Or they knew that the whole time and never pushed.

Red Bulls dream scenario would have been a late safety car allowing Max to grab a cheap pit stop onto a faster tire.

MarcD147

max dialed it way down to save the engine as they realized they weren't going to be able to attack/pass Kimi. he basically cruised to the finish (and Ricardo did the same)

Akunob

I hear you and this is sometimes the unfortunate aspect of F1. However, I woke up fully expecting the team orders to come down after watching Bottas take the pole in qualifying ahead of Hamilton (and I said so the day before). Team MB is predictable in executing team strategy. For me, I woke up to watch (1) the start and the race to turn 2 (if there was going to be any drama, it would have occurred there), (2) what sort of challenge Vettel would mount from the P3 position (3) how Ferrari would execute their pit stop strategy (they have been dreadful at it this season, and frankly nailed it this time at Sochi), (4) I thought Verstappen's engine penalty had taken him out of the race and that we would make contact with another car trying to get through traffic (he didn't and drove spectacularly), and finally (5) how the young drivers would fair and how the tier 2 & 3 team would battle (frankly that's where you see real wheel-to-wheel action in F1 these days). Oh and what Alonso would complain about this time...

As fans of F1, we all want to watch flat out, all-out racing however there are circumstances that as fans we have to expect. MB team orders for Bottas to let Hamilton pass while they are 1-2 on grid with Hamilton leading in the driver's championship and Bottas not even in the picture was fully expected and thus wasn't disappointing when it happened. Five races to go, there's still so much to get up and watch. Vettel isn't out of it just yet...

multi21

agdamis

Now we are totally aligned, hell we can even watch the race together, I'll buy the coffee. I will even go as far as to say that if I were in Toto's shoes I may do the same. BUT! At what point do teams and Liberty Media need to consider that viewers are getting less inclined to wake up and watch a race where the concern is tire conservation, team orders.................

I find myself increasingly less inclined to watch F1 and much prefer IMSA. Young generation is getting into Formula E where their is a lot of manufacturer support and competition. I am not ready for Formula E yet but boy do I long for the days of Senna and even before, that was racing.

okie981

That was the highlight of the race IMO, LeClerc's finishing position, followed by Max's drive from the back. The Sauber's appear to benefitting this year from the change in management and Alfa Romeo cash infusion. Maybe Kimi wasn't so silly after all by moving there for 2019, but that's not to say they will be a regular podium contender.

Akunob

okie981

Exactly. IMSA offers some entertaining racing. The race at Lime Rock this year with only the GTLM and GTD classes running was great.

wanna911

I don't bother with Imsa much any more. It seems they bend over backwards to make sure everyone gets a trophy penalizing winners and giving concessions to teams that are behind. Creates a nonstop game of handicaps. A mid engine RSR shaped like a 911 puts an asterisk next to every win in my book. At least in F1 the best team/drivers combos are always in front. But you can't expect real racing consistently with no refueling. Not gonna happen with the tire conservation strategy. They need to strip the aero down, especially underneath the car. And bring back refueling, even if it's with jugs.

okie981

Understood, but at least I can stay awake during an IMSA race.