I think going towards a points penalty is going to be whats happened. I remember a couple of months back that option being a hot topic on the pre-races shows and between practice sessions and it seems to have plenty of support. But at the same time Ferrari would probably have been hit pretty hard with this recently and like was said that would greatly benefit the Mercedes teams who have had very good engine reliability recently, So i could see it taking a while to bring any change to the way penalties are handled. On This, Would you still have the driver starting wherever he qualified? as in theory you could then see teams swap an engine to gain an advantage at a track they are good at and in that situation if they get a 1&2 instead of a 3&4 or 1&3 suddenly 5 points is very worth the price to do so.
I think something like that would be a good thing. be interesting to see any proposals from the teams. Except ferrari not sure how good their proposal is considering how close their relationship is with the FIA
At this point I wouldn't be surprised if I get a phone call from Clair... it seems like everyone is in the running for that seat.
Yea everyone but Massa. I can kinda see it being shared on a "celebrity driver" rotation. Who happens to walk through the pits on a Friday gets the drive. Realistically I could see someone like Rosenquist getting the drive and the races he can't attend being filled by an older for the sponsors. The handling of Williams drivers makes me wonder if they have any ambition. I van see them slipping behind Sauber next season only TRH preventing them finishing dead last.
Maybe that's the new engine penalty... Whoever exceeds their allocation has to take Kvyat or Maldonado for a race...
That's a horrible idea! I think Williams issue is the same as it always has been, just poor management. They start out the season with a promising package but fail to develop it so fall behind, that an the car has woeful low speed grip.
Isn't having Stroll bad enough? I remember for a period Badoer was the butt of all f1 jokes. How the time of paid drivers has changed that. I've always wondered why Williams was so poor on the development front. Yes their philosophy isn't great and tbh I wouldnt say they are mismanaged, if anything maybe too cautious. Take Klatenborns three drivers into two seats or dealing with Honda out of choice. She always seemed clueless to be. With Williams it seems like something else
With Paddy Lowe now at Williams, we shall see... tbh I just just chalked Williams' lack of success down to lack of money... that's normally the source of a teams' woes... ...unless you're toyota... or honda...
Speaking of which... Nando will be joining Lando for the Daytona 24h... not quite Le Mans but close...
True he is like a three legged donkey on skis. as Reflames said Now Paddy is there we may be able to see a change. Don't forget the management will also have a big say in the direction of car design, we know Williams is extremely slippery but then on more technical tracks it struggles I cant say I know why it does but the engineers an designers should be able to tell if its low speed downforce, mechanical grip, balance etc causing it.
Well then... that answers that... Hartley and Gasly to be STR's 2018 driver line-up... ...though given it's STR, whether either of them manage to survive the entire season is another matter.
FIA really does stand for Ferrari International Assistance and the other teams are all part of the conspiracy?
So Vettel has his fourth Sebdonado moment of the season, but it's still not enough to keep him in the title race. Max benefitting from the new Renault engine, but also driving like an ace. Valtteri and Kimi salvaging some pride for their teams, Lewis crowned champion in the land of Tequila, I wonder where they'll find him passed out tomorrow morning. Ocon, Stroll and Perez all having great races too.
Go Lewis Well deserved. The cynic in me says hmm to Vettel tapping Lewis's rear tyre but if it was intended it didn't work. Either way who cares.
The contact wouldn't have done anything if Verstappen didn't break Vettels win first. If anything, Hamilton was way too optimistic thinking he will squeeze in there.
A little confused as Hamilton was ahead, another case of vettel being to aggressive, which was definitely the case in the vettel Vs verstapen incident. Not sure why people think vettel can do no wrong, Hamilton has certainly made errors which I wouldn't defend.