GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: Scott on September 17, 2017, 06:38:00 PM
-
Well, that first lap was spectacular. I just wanted to start this thread to get things going, but I'll do my heroes and zeroes later.
The first lap incident was caused without a doubt, by Sebastian Vettel's slight move to the left, which took him most of the way across the track into Max, who when he realized was getting pinched by both Ferraris was simply trying to brake to avoid collision on either side.
At first glance I was inclined to blame MV, but after the overhead replay, it was painfully clear that Vettel was the culprit. Kimi was oblivious to what was happening because MV had already started braking to avoid and to Kimi it looked like he had won the drag race and the corner would be his.
Only annoying thing from Max today was in his post crash interview, he had to try to share the blame between Seb and Kimi when the replays showed Kimi clearly with one wheel brushing the white line and never deviating. MV claimed they both moved over on him. And by that time he would have certainly seen the replays himself. It is embarrassing to listen to these guys when they have some mental block that doesn't let them realize that a hundred million people are watching their behaviour and know clearly what happened.
-
Vettel's post crash interview takes me back to his crash with Webber in almost the same type of move. The way he dismissed any plausible explanation (that he was aggressively trying to 'chop' the other driver, which he so clearly was, in both situations) is the part of Vettel that I really don't like. He doesn't have to stand there and wipe away tears for his behaviour, but a simple 'yeah, I guess I kind of screwed up', like Kimi would have done, would have been enough. Nope, none of that in Vettel.
Anyway, the stewards called it racing and to be a bit fair to Vettel, he probably didn't realize that Kimi was passing MV on the inside and had left no room for Max to move to in avoidance. Had Vettel noticed Kimi charging up the inside, he might have been somewhat less aggressive because he would have known he could probably count on the team sorting out the order among themselves, while MV would have already been passed.
Sorry for Alonso to have been the other innocent bystander. The Honda seems to have some speed on the point and squirt courses and could have actually been podium material (wait, that's a Honda...are Alonso and Mclaren doing the right thing? lol).
So, back to the H&Z rundown...
Heroes:
Hamilton, for doing what he had to do. There was that one moment when the team was trying to back him into Vettel for a reason I still really don't understand. Were they really trying to anticipate a SC late in the race, and thinking they could actually time when it comes out so they could prevent DR from getting a free pit stop?? I still don't understand how the tiny chance of that actually happening under those conditions with that sort of within a couple of seconds timing, that they would base such a risky strategy decision on it. What am I missing? If they backed him up into DR so that he could pull off some sudden speed and get into the DRS range, he could have actually passed Lewis. Then what? All for the puny chance that a SC might have come out in the closing laps and in the right circumstances would have given DR a fresh set of rubber? Naaa, come on. I first thought they were trying to back up DR so Bottas could close in and maybe pass DR. That at least made a bit of sense. Anyway, I will be happy to have that one explained to me.
Ricciardo, for doing what he always does, managing to be in the right place at the right time, and not have any major screw up. He would have attacked if he could have, but the Merc's seemed to have some edge in their race pace even though the RBR's looked stronger in practice.
Bottas, for pulling out a podium without having anything to drink for the entire race. Screw the extra kg...I would want a redundant water bottle, even if it was just suction powered from a plastic bottle in the cockpit.
The rest of the field for giving us most of the action after lap one and for some very respectable drives. Sainz did a remarkable job, nice passes and a puncture away from a podium position. Perez showed why he was re-signed, Palmer showed why he should have been and the rest stayed in the game in challenging conditions.
Zeroes
Anyone who would suggest that the FIA shouldn't have started the race in those conditions. It was almost perfect. But instead of the first corner being a mess due to drivers over-cooking their way in for the conditions, it was something else.
Vettel, because even though he couldn't have known Kimi was in the way of Max being able to avoid, he didn't really need to jig that far over to close down MV anyway. A simple swerve would have put him off his line. MV would have over shot the corner if he had kept up with Vettel anyway. Karma bit back.
-
Turns out Ricciardo was nursing a gearbox problem that RBR thought would turn terminal. That would explain his mediocre speed.
-
Heroes
Carlos Sainz - for a superlative drive up the field and his unbridled joy at getting 4th from it. The best drive of his career so far.
Jolyon Palmer - ditto, except his result was 6th.
Daniel Ricciardo - would have won but for the gearbox problem.
Zeroes
Max Verstappen - if he hadn't completely miscalculated what Kimi Raikkonen would do, the first-turn accident would not have happened. Should have been penalised but wasn't.
Sebastian Vettel - Should not have assumed that Max had calculated incorrectly given his track record and the fact that cars need to turn for corners eventually. I believe he should also have been penalised (for extreme carelessness), but again wasn't.
Track security - for removing people from the track invasion almost as soon as the cameras stopped rolling.
-
For once I absolve Max completely from this debacle(and I am far from being a Max fan)He braked but had absolutely nowhere to go, he was being squeezed by both Ferrari's and was snookered.
-
Heroes:
Lewis - He made the best of what he had. Merc wasn't the best car on track this week-end. Not even second best. It became the best after both Ferraris and one Red Bull crashed out and the other Bull went lame with a bad gearbox.
Palmer - Best run so far. I hope he finds a ride for next season.
Kimi - He made a great dash at the start. It would have succeeded if Vettel hadn't tried a Schumacher Chop on Max.
Charlie - For starting the race the way he did. The shunt has nothing to do with the rain.
Liberty Media - For signing Singapore up for four more years. The race stays through at least 2021.
Zeroes:
Vettel - You already know why.
I'm not putting Max here because I don't think he saw Kimi. He was distracted by Seb and wasn't expecting a dash up the sideline.
I give a special cheer to Force India for their Zipper Fins on the back of the shark fin. They also had a 6 element T wing at the back of the shark fin, but most everyone missed it. Looking at the Zipper, no doubt. This was the best picture of it I could find. Look closely. Each of the three main planes is split down the middle into two small wings.
-
Good spot on the Force India double elements fin.
For once I absolve Max completely from this debacle(and I am far from being a Max fan)He braked but had absolutely nowhere to go, he was being squeezed by both Ferrari's and was snookered.
I had to hard swallow not to lay some blame at Max, though I don't think Kimi had anything to do with it, and Max threw some blame his way.
-
I guess Max being so reckless made us or me fail to
notice how reckless Vettel is. Maybe it's a German get
out of my way thing
-
Max should have seen Kimi (yes, starts require a thousand eyes, not just two, but most people, most of the time, manage them OK). That was the cause of the initial Max/Seb strike, though that on its own would merely have forced Kimi to retire. (I found it amusing that Jos Verstappen tried to use three photos to absolve Max - the first one probably had Kimi parallel to the wall except that it was cropped. On the second one, Kimi's front-right wheel is deranged, but Jos still tried to imply Kimi had deliberately squeezed Max in the third photo...)
Sebastian should have considered the possibility Max might have been wrong. It's not unprecedented for him, nor for other drivers in similar situations. He certainly didn't need to make a decision regarding his Turn 1 line at that point. The result of this was that Max had nowhere to go when he bounced off Kimi, except into Seb's path.
Then the Ferraris collided - neither had control of their car at the time, but what different paths they'd taken to get there...
-
This race was all about the first corner on the first lap. Vettel made a serious error of judgement by trying to squeeze Verstappen. Max isn't in contention for the championship and Vettel needed all the points that he could get, so trying to block him was not a smart decision. It reminded me of some of Schumacher's startline chops where he was rammed from behind in 2000. It was unnecessary. Vettel has to take responsibility for this collision. Raikkonen was certainly totally blameless and very unlucky on this occasion, as he would have taken the lead after that start. Also out of luck was Alonso, who could have got on the podium had he not been taken out by Verstappen's damaged Red Bull.
Hamilton made the most of his opportunity with a flawless performance, while Ricciardo made the most of his wounded car to finish second. There were some excellent performances behind, notably Palmer, but ultimately the second half of the race was a procession.