[ajmat]

For Mercedes, it was a case of damned if you do and damned if you dont.

Yes, it was not proper racing but the art of racing has been blinded by the race to get Championship points

Argument for what they did

Need to preserve the cars for subsequent races hence reduce dynamic loading inflicted by Lewis in defending his position and fighting for the pole. They need to ensure reliability for the last few races with what little they have.

Argument against what they did

We were robbed of what would have been a spectacular race. Vettel hounding Lewis who would have been battling Bottas. In reality, without team orders, it would have been Lewis, Vettal and Bottas in that order on the podium. Mercedes were determined to ensure a guaranteed 1-2

Neither of their drivers really felt it was worth it though!

Instead of racing, it has become a war with pawns being sacrificed!

[jpcoolguy]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

Though he kept the lead after first corner, he could not pull away or shake off Lewis who was consistently tailing him within less than 2 secs throughout. I am sure if they were allowed to race on track, Lewis would have overtook him.

Originally Posted by ajmat

We were robbed of what would have been a spectacular race. Vettel hounding Lewis who would have been battling Bottas. In reality, without team orders, it would have been Lewis, Vettal and Bottas in that order on the podium. Mercedes were determined to ensure a guaranteed 1-2

Not in Sochi though, which is Bottas' favorite track in F1 calendar. Hamilton was unable to overtake a slower Verstappen who was on older tyres than Hamilton's and Bottas put up the fastest lap of the race and I am damn sure he would have defended his position from Hamilton. Also, Vettel acknowledged that they didn't have the power to challenge Mercedes and he is content with 3rd place. The regulation changes for front wing in 2019 is a sigh of relief, what with these cars losing 50% of downforce once they are within 1.5s of the leading car and making overtaking very tougher.

[FURY_44]

This year, he has made his share of mistakes. But the worst was his lame + dangerous attempt at blocking Hamilton yesterday. I'm so glad Hamilton took him right after:
https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=1zX-sZGLl_k

I strongly agree on this, it was a double move under braking by Vettel and Lewis could have easily ended up crashing into the wall. Worst case he could have taken Vettel with him.

Super fast reflexes by Lewis saved them both.

[Porcupine]

Originally Posted by KiloAlpha

So to win a championship, Vettel needs to win in all remaining races, and Ferrari needs to make sure Kimi finishes 2nd and keeps Hamilton behind him.

Tough.

The sad part is, while Vettel might pull a rabbit out of the bag and win all the remaining races, keeping Kimi 2nd for every race as long as the Mercs don't DNF is very difficult. Next year with Leclerc will be a whole different story, I won't be surprised to see a Hamilton/Rosberg repeat with Vettel/Leclerc, if they're allowed to race.

[SilentEngine]

Originally Posted by Porcupine

The sad part is, while Vettel might pull a rabbit out of the bag and win all the remaining races, keeping Kimi 2nd for every race as long as the Mercs don't DNF is very difficult.

Appreciate your optimism, but neither can Vettel pull a rabbit nor can Ferrari score 1-2 with the kind of pit wall they have. Just couple of samples from this weekend itself:
1. Both Seb and Kimi missed practice starts at end of FP3, and in both cases drivers expressed their doubts about the timing, while the voices on other end of radio seemed to ignore their concerns.
2. During the first round of pit stops, Kimi's race engineer asks Kimi to do opposite of Hamilton when Kimi couldn't even see Hamilton ahead!

[Vid6639]

Alonso was the best. His pit radio message was about other drivers and what they were doing and who he is racing with. After the team radio his reply.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94rtunPKmHw&t=0s

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Alonso was the best. His pit radio message was about other drivers and what they were doing and who he is racing with. After the team radio his reply.....

Alonso continues to reinforce the poor opinion I have of him (the person, not the driver).

In the race, he responds with this snarky "I don't care". After the race, Alonso complains to the media that McLaren lacks ambition, when they didn't pit him for fresh tyres at the end so he could try to set a fastest lap (whether that car is capable is another matter, though).

To me, a better finishing position (even outside the points) is more valuable than a fastest lap because:

• Finishing positions are used to break a tie in points
• Pretty much everyone knows the fastest lap is a hollow statistic in this era, when the truly fast cars often run slow to conserve engines and tyres, and the fastest lap usually goes to a driver who pits the last.

Apart from his frustration, I'm pretty sure that Alonso intentionally puts out such salty comments on the radio, knowing full well that the broadcast directors know that he provides entertaining radio messages, and Alonso has never shied away from building his own brand. The shame of it is, given his talent, he could just let his results speak for himself, without having to resort to such behavior.

[McLaren Roxx]

Quite surprised to see so many not liking what was done by Mercedes.
I understand the need to see drivers fight for points on track on their own merit, but we should not forget that it's the WDC title at stake here.
Any option available at any given point in time will be used.
Mercedes did not play this card up until they are in the final leg of the season, when there are only 2 title contenders. So this move is pretty obvious.
Also let's not forget in the last decade, titles have been won/lost by less than 7 points;
2016 - 5 pts
2012 - 3 pts
2010 - 4 pts
2008 - 1 pt
2007 - 1 pt
Then why would any team risk losing as much when things are not yet confirmed.

All credit to Bottas, who definitely deserved this win. But I am sure once Lewis secures his WDC, he will gladly return the favour in the remainder of the race(s).

[ashwin.terminat]

Got this from Reddit -> Twitter.




Link to Tweet


If FIA does conclude that Ferrari were running an illegal system, they will be stripped of all WCC points - which is the only realistic championship they can win this year (albeit it will be hard)


Then again, the main article is German. So shouldn't be surprising that Ferrari is being attacked.

[jpcoolguy]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

If FIA does conclude that Ferrari were running an illegal system, they will be stripped of all WCC points - which is the only realistic championship they can win this year (albeit it will be hard)


Then again, the main article is German. So shouldn't be surprising that Ferrari is being attacked.

Now, an allegation from the other side, italian media.



Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/p/BoZLULpBcj6/

Original news is in Italian.

These are just some allegations/speculations thrown around from either side to maintain interest.