Yah, first race always got excitement of wondering how the teams will stack up.

As expected, Mercs top with RB & Ferrari behind. Note though that RB & Ferrari were using slightly harder SS tires as opposed to Mercs on US, so still unsure of the true ultimate pace yet.

As expected also, McLaren is still ahvign reliability issues! But at least they have more competitive pace now.

Ugh damn ugly halo-ed cars!

It's obvious that pitting under safety car (real or virtual) should be beneficial, coz everyone will have to slow down and hence take longer to go around the track. If one is on the pit stop window like Seb was, then of course he can benefit from pitting under the safety car period.

I agree that it's good though that the winning car is not yet the fastest one, so let the fastest car try to close the points gap.

Good to see McLaren (even with some luck) able to score good points and both cars finishing. At least for now they have vindicated their switch from Honda to Renault. TR on the other hand still struggling as expected.

Very pity for Hass, unbelievable that they could screw up on both cars pit stops. At least pace wise they seem to lead the midfield pack now.

Especially after the joke Ham made on Saturday to Seb. Lucky for him Seb did not fire at him during the podium interview coz he could have done that very easily!

Mercs said there's a software problem that gave them the incorrect time estimation on the VSC window. Anyway as you said Lewis also cannot do anything as his speed was already governed by the VSC rule like everyone else and if he went faster then he should get penalized which is even worse. It's just Seb's luck that he's in that window to exploit the advantage, just like any advantage that can be gained during normal safety car too.

Yeah exactly, I was already anticipating that Seb would fire back with stinging joke at Ham but surprisingly he did not! Maybe he decided to be classy and just did not want to rub the salt in the wound.

Hahaha Lewis wears his heart on his sleeve.
Maybe Seb is also saving it until the end of the season if he managed to win the title. He doesn't want to celebrate too much as he knows the Merc is still faster.

Seb's hair cut makes him look like a white supremacist, isn't he?

When race drivers were still gladiators!

What do you guys think of Saturday sprint race for F1? I'm all for it but they would still need to determine the sprint race grid position with qualifying on Friday. Then there's the case of engine + gearbox lifetime, should allow for more allocation per season.

http://www.planetf1.com/news/formula-1-con...for-qualifying/

This post has been edited by 6UE5T: Apr 5 2018, 12:35 AM

Hmm I don't quite agree with using that same tire thing in a sense it kinda makes it like a very long race split into 2 days. On engine/gearbox penalty, I still think better to give a bit more allowance if got this sprint race but I agree with you on the penalty points more for the constructor instead of the driver if need to change engine/gearbox.

Good race by Seb to be able to run that long using the softs. Good also that Ferrari was able to react effectively by switching to their plan B, so far they are able to make 2 correct pit strategy in 2 races already.

Very pity for Kimi's crew, imagine a 1000HP car launching and twisting on your leg! That also causes a potential 15 points for Kimi & Ferrari.

Excellent performance by Gasly & Ericsson. This is supposed to be a power track yet Honda finished the best of the rest! Alonso and McLaren must be scratching their heads, but having said that, Alonso now is 4th already on the standings! On the team side, looks like McLaren is firmly replacing Williams as a historically winning team but now just a midfield while Williams is replacing Sauber at the back!

I agree, I think if Bottas pushed harder earlier then he might have a chance to win it. Problem is, in this age of F1, the drivers are very reliant on the team to set the target time for them based on computer simulation which sometimes might not be correct.

McLaren seems more stuck up! Typical of a team which has such a rich winning history and still got money.

Kimi got most of his fastest laps when he was in McLaren and during his first Ferrari period, basically when he was still on top of his game. Anyway fastest laps doesn't mean much, just look at Senna whom I and many still considered as the fastest and best ever racer only managed 19 fastest laps, less than even Gerhard Berger and Nico Rosberg! It's the pole position that counts more as the showcase of pure speed/talent.

Yes, I know Kimi should've been a multiple champ if not for many technical retirements and Schumy getting away with cheating. For example in 2003, he would have been champ with only a single win (like KK Rosberg) if Schumy was not conveniently pushed back on track by the marshals in Nurburgring hairpin. Also same case in 2005, Alonso would not have been champ if Kimi had less technical problems. Those days he was really fast at least in the dry (not so in the wet). But in his 2nd Ferrari period, he is already a shadow of himself, easily beaten by Alonso and now Seb (even when Seb just join in their first year together). His fastest laps, or anyone's fastest laps doesn't mean that much coz got other variables in the race that are in play, unlike pole position. Pole position is different because that's the time you go all out in the fastest setup with a clear track, hence a true showcase of pure raw speed, the essence of driving skill I'd say. Like real55555 posted above, when it matters (qualifying and race), so far it's Seb who can get better results despite also having less fastest laps record than Kimi.

That approach to win in the slowest possible time is ALWAYS valid in racing, even more so today! That's why now engineers play an even more important role in determining the target lap times so that they can win while still preserving the machinery, especially since nowadays engines and gearboxes have to last so many races. Actually this approach is even more evident in this last few years and that's why drivers often complain that they cannot race all out. During Senna's era, they only need the engine & gearbox to last 1 race, so they can actually go flat out more but in Senna's case apparently he did not! Coz he had crushed his opponents during qualifying and therefore he can manage from the front, not needing to record fastest laps so often. I think he learnt his lesson the hard way during the 1988 Monaco where he had a big lead yet crashing due to him still trying to record fast laps. That's why I also think pole position means so much more than fastest laps to showcase who are really the faster/more talented drivers. (it was a bit distorted during Schumy era where they introduced fueling strategy into qualifying though).

Luckily he did not!


If he didn't squeeze like that, Kimi would have passed him.

Yeah, that Fernando must be surprised to see Seb and able to overtook him!


Hmm I would not go as far as that coz Mercs still has the pace over RB, just not able to convert properly so far.

He is still very young la, still has much time to learn and improve.

That's exactly what I was thinking! What a coincidence!

All in all, this is the first blunder for Ferrari. Pretty bad strategy also with Kimi, as it's very obvious he was set as the sacrificing lamb to block Bottas. Thye got what they deserve with such sinister strategy where they should have gotten a win and a podium but instead only able to get 3rd with their less preferred driver! Lucky for them, it's not Ham who took full advantage. Merc though had overtaken Ferrari at the top of the constructor by 1 pt. So yeah, should be quite a slap in their face!

DR is probably the best overtaker now on the grid. He has done several of those impressive moves before.