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Old 15th April 2018, 10:41   #16
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

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Originally Posted by shibujp View Post
Ferrari fan though I am, I am not quite sold on the Ferrari domination yet. It's not a well oiled machine like the Silver Arrows of the past few years or the Ferrari of the Schumacher era. There is definitely a resurgence and they don't seem to be holding on by the skin of their teeth as last year but they need to start consistently being able to finish two red cars at the front for me to put my money on them. Whether that will be good for the sport is another question. For my part, I kind of like the current state of play where none of the top teams have a clear dominance. The races are so much more entertaining and teams are kept on their toes. And Mercedes given their engineering depth and deep pockets are sure to give Ferrari a tough fight.

Drive on,
Shibu.
I didn’t say they were dominating. I said that it must have been a significant gain over where the Ferraris were in pre-season. They’ve made up ground on Merc. The Merc looked a good half second a lap quicker than the Ferrari in pre-season. Right now though, on race pace they seem at par. In Aus they were quicker while at Bahrain the Ferrari had a slight edge on the supersofts.

In China, we’re yet to see race pace. But the fact remains that there’s no half-second gap which seemed a given in pre-season.

My sense is that Mercedes will press for a one-stopper as in Bahrain. It’s their only chance of getting ahead - unless they get a massive jump at the start. If the Ferraris are ahead when exiting Turn 1, my money would be on them to stY ahead with a potentially reactive strategy based on gaps.

Cheers!
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:27   #17
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Congratulations Ricciardo! Brilliant drive. Overtakes on Hamilton and Bottas were top drawer. Maybe Max can learn from those overtakes by Ricciardo.

Mad Max is becoming the Marquez of F1. He could have easily become 2nd if he was a little bit more patient.

Good defending by Bottas at the end too. Great driving by him.

Ricciardo's overtake of Bottas will be the highlight of the race for me.
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:28   #18
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

That was some dumb stuff from Ferrari and Vettel today. What should have been 1-2 turned out to be ordinary result. What was Vettel thinking when he aggressively blocked Kimi at the start and then Ferrari with their pit stop calls?

Welldone Redbull for spicing up the race!
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:30   #19
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

Finally a 'race' after a while.

Daniel's overtakes are something else. Thanks to the safety car for the action thereafter.
This is what happens if the Bulls don't retire.

I only wished RAI can be more aggressive. Guess he's bored.

Last edited by tharian : 15th April 2018 at 13:32.
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:33   #20
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

That was a proper race ! So happy for Daniel. He tried so hard to wipe that smile off his face.
Mercedes got unlucky with the safety car and Ferrari got stupid with their strategy.
Things spicing up in F1 after a while .
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:35   #21
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

Action packed F1 race after quite some time. Safety car changed a boring race. Had thought that Ferraris would be able take benefit of safety car but Redbull cars did. Ricciardo deserved this win. Good to see so many overtakes, even Alonso's overtake on Vettel in last few laps.
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:47   #22
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

What an amazing race. Red Bull and Daniel Ricciardo are on the board in 2018! Ricciardo is certainly the driver of the day, credit must go to Ricciardo for a fantastic drive.

V. Botas reminds me Juan Pablo Montoya, a fantastic driver but somehow not able to win the races. However, Montoya used to be more aggressive on the track as well as after race interviews.
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:52   #23
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

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Originally Posted by nair View Post

Mad Max is becoming the Marquez of F1. He could have easily become 2nd if he was a little bit more patient.
So Happy for Ricciardo. He's not only best at over taking, probably the most deserving champion in making.

Great race for Bottas too. He managed the second to none.

Max needs to calm himself down. That win was his, he threw it away. And that will make him more angry and frustrated. The first one was a bit over ambitious, that cost him the win. The one with Vettel, probably he didn't expect a open door and made the mistake.

Vettel was the big loser here, the strategic team caught napping, and the incident made it worse.

Well, the championship has opened up. Again Ferrari the big loser, probably Mercedes is P1 now.
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Old 15th April 2018, 13:59   #24
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

Super race after long long time with multiple overtakes between top drivers(P1-P6).

Its high time that Verstappen takes some class from Ricciardo on how to be aggressive and safe during overtakes. Just the talent is not going to win races for him. I am sure, Red Bull will be very disappointed with his race today.

And it was really a lightning decision by Red bull to pit during the Safety car as their cars were near to the pit entry then. That too they had to double stack their cars which they did earlier as well. So, overall it was a superb team effort. Ricciardo always makes use of any given opportunity and comes on top. All his overtake maneuver today were awesome.

Wonder why Vettel blocked Raikkonen at the first corner, it helped Bottas to move ahead of Raikkonen and kind of compromised his race.

Alonso's move on Vettel was something to cheer for his fans

Strange that Mercedes is yet to win a race this year, its good for championship fight though.
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Old 15th April 2018, 14:25   #25
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

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Originally Posted by arun_josie View Post

Wonder why Vettel blocked Raikkonen at the first corner, it helped Bottas to move ahead of Raikkonen and kind of compromised his race.

Alonso's move on Vettel was something to cheer for his fans

Strange that Mercedes is yet to win a race this year, its good for championship fight though.
Vettel moved to cover Raikonnen. Though they are team mates, everyone's there for win. Also Kimi's side of track had more rubber on turn 1, which was mentioned by Vettel in the post qualifying interview.

Vettel was clearly struggling after the incident. He couldn't pass Hulkenberg who was not more than 2.5 seconds in front of him after the incident. Alonso was on fresher rubber, and as soon as he passed Vettel on penultimate lap, he was 5 seconds clear.

It could have been much worse for Mercedes, yet they lead the championship by 1 point. They could have gambled with Hamilton, and sent him on softs. They had nothing to lose. Bottas got them covered for the win at front, at that time.
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Old 15th April 2018, 14:39   #26
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Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

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Originally Posted by fz_rider View Post
Vettel moved to cover Raikonnen. Though they are team mates, everyone's there for win. Also Kimi's side of track had more rubber on turn 1, which was mentioned by Vettel in the post qualifying interview.

Not all races are won or lost by Turn 1 in Lap 1. Did he forget Singapore last year already? In a way he caused his own downfall later in the race by blocking Kimi. Both Bottas and Verstappen benefitted in lap 1 which later proved decisive - Bottas overtook him in pits and Verstappen crashed into him.

It's good for the championship though. It opens up the championship at the front with three teams fighting so close. In such a scenario the team that wins in the end will be the one that gets their strategies right. I am willing to bet at this point that Ferrrai(WCC)/Vettel(WDC) will not happen.

Last edited by SilentEngine : 15th April 2018 at 14:41.
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Old 15th April 2018, 19:22   #27
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

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Originally Posted by suku_patel_22 View Post
Really strong performance from Ferrari. Wonder where Seb found that extra time in Q3.
This beautiful video will let you know the answer!


Coming the race, the biggest losers this weekend will be Max and Ferrari.

Max just blew a certain win today didn't he? This is Max' 4th year in F1. So, its high time he shows a lot more maturity and respect for his experience thus far. The race and those positions were his for the taking. He just needed a bit of patience. He was crazy fast and that just got into his head. You can go for a gap, but its also very important to yield at times. Winning a war is better than battles you know!

Sometimes, I do wonder whether it would have been better for him to have at least a season of GP2/ F2 before joining F1. From what I gather, he hasn't won a serious championship till now in his career. Maybe we would have seen a better Max today if this wasn't the case.

And this weekend is going to hurt. More than any 10 seconds penalty can.

In comparison, Ricciardo was amazing today. A well deserved win which will be celebrated across the paddock.

The moves today were as sensational as they always are for him.


I don't think there are many out there with such a feel under braking. Always carrying a lot of speed, braking so late and yet not a single wheel makes a protest. He makes it look easy. And most importantly with a smile and no hate or smugness. What a class act!

Ferrari shot themselves on the foot with the strategy today. For the SC, I can excuse the team. RBR was at the right place at the right time and made a bold call. But the team made bad calls everywhere else and shortchanged Kimi too. If the team was behind him, Kimi could have won today! No wonder he looks so dejected on the podium. And he didn't even feel like going after Bottas or P2 towards the end. I wonder why he is doing it still. So far from all the Saturdays this season, we know that he hasn't lost his speed. There will be many series that will welcome him with both hands. Yes, we won't get to see him as much as we do now. But it will be much less painful.

And I would love to see Ricciardo at Ferrari. His case is a bit like Kimi at RBR. Not so bad, but not so good either with Helmut and all strongly in Camp Max. Not sure whether Vettel will have the balls to not veto that though.

The ground has moved from under Lewis' feet. And its very ironic that it seem to have happened after he made that comment to Vettel about smiling after qualifying at Australia. He will have to get his head down and bring his A game soon. Because, after many a season, we have really got what looks like a brilliant season!
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Old 16th April 2018, 09:55   #28
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

I feel terrible about missing the race . Well, I didn't actually miss it, but was at a brunch party so it was in the background and I only caught it in bits & pieces. Just couldn't understand what was happening with so many changes in positions. Then came home, saw the highlights & read a few reports.

to Red Bull's quick thinking and masterstroke of a strategy. They were literally flying on those tyres.

Am damn angry about the way Ferrari is treating Kimi. He's a champion himself, no trainee driver that can be used as a roadblock just to help Vettel. I'd be gutted if I were Kimi and would just not have the motivation to race on the next Sunday. But it was a bittersweet moment to then see Kimi on the podium and not Vettel. I'm from the 'Ron Dennis' school of thought and would let both drivers race on merit, not team orders.

Verstappen is crazy; talented, but too risky. He's got to rein that in.

Hamilton & Mercedes are both having too many "off" days. But well, not that I'm complaining because a Mercedes washout doesn't make for an exciting year. I'm dead sure that Mercedes will be closely fighting with Ferrari for the top positions soon.


Last edited by GTO : 16th April 2018 at 09:57.
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Old 16th April 2018, 10:19   #29
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

Ferrari got their strategy wrong in this race. The way Bottas went ahead of Vettel as he came out of the pits showed the same.

Next, Kimi is a world champion from 2007. He should fight for his place and not give a race position to Vettel easily.

Max touched Vettel in the race. The biggest gainer of this touch was Kimi as he went three places ahead. If you guys see the touch between Max and Vettel, the spin looks in perfect sync.

It will be exciting year for F1 if we see some more races like the Chinese GP.
The big moment for me in the race was Ricciardo drinking from his shoe the Champagne.
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Old 16th April 2018, 10:53   #30
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Re: Formula 1: The 2018 Chinese Grand Prix

Ferrari goofed in delaying their pit stops. As a result they had to go for hell for leather and consequently Incident/accident of Vettel.

Also, Raikonnen has to become more aggressive at the start. His place is No.2 and not no.3 or 4.

On a different note good to see the Mercedes/Ferrari duopoly broken.
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