Shameful drive from Perez, it was like he had regressed to the bad old days, before he matured into a credible racer. I do wonder if Ocon will be in a Merc before long - Bottas has the occasional impressive display, but is becoming increasingly anonymous. Good effort from Leclerc - I hope he gets the chance to shine next year.
Seeing the post-race interviews... Bloody hell the podium 3 looked rough... EDIT: Damn the ferrari team look miserable af...
I know Lewis has a big lead but Eddie goes over the top declaring it as over already Just one dnf (fingers crossed, touch wood, ect that it doesnt happen) for Lewis and it's all to play for again, I think in Vettels head it's all over though. He made no effort with the champagne at all.
Even if Merc did suffer one mechanical failure, it's not unreasonable to expect Lewis to win at least half of the six races left, but more likely four of six since only Mexico and Brazil work against Merc's long wheelbase low drag design. It'll take a real disaster to put Ferrari back on track.
Too many mistakes from Vettel this year and Lewis' consistency is at a high, with some stunning performances.
It's the second year in a row that Vettel makes too many mistakes. I'm gonna guess Ferrari will eventually tell him to step it up or move along, especially depending on how LeClerc performs.
I thought he'd get a black flag. Probably only got away without punishment for taking ocon out because it was his own team mate, I think that was a purposeful nudge, but the sirotkin one was atrocious. A petulant reaction to some great defensive driving from the Russian. Very dangerous driving like that should not be tolerated.
Ocon shouldn't have taken any risk at all when trying to pass Perez, they where on for 7th and 8th place which for a midfield team is the exact same as 1st and 2nd place for a big team, so team orders really should have prevented them from getting too close to each other in the first place. Of course the whole its a team sport and take no risks with team mates cuts both ways so Perez should have immediately backed out of it when Ocon got alongside instead of attempting to fight him. The Sirotkin one though, 100% on purpose by Perez and he ain't a big money maker for the sport like Vettel, so unlike the Vettel Baku incident this hopefully won't be swept under the rug within days.
The first one was never going to get punished, Perez followed his line and Occon tried to go round the outside. Perez not moving was bone headed, but Occon trying to go around the outside like that wasn't terribly smart either, all Perez had to do was drive as normal and Occon would either crash or be forced back. The second one was pretty unforgivable, 2013 the guy who Jenson doesn't like driving. I'm sure he will be getting a reprimand or fine for it.
Tbh i thought Sirotkin would've been Black/Oranged into the pits what with having part of Ocon's wheel stuck in his front wing... but he wasn't...
I wonder if Perez will pick up points on his licence for both incidents. He will have to pick up some after Sorkin. I do believe they gave him the benefit of the doubt with the first one, taking team mate out punishes the team enough and being heavy on fuel etc I think they side on racing incident more often than not. Race was pretty slow pace hence K-Mags fastest lap. Hamilton didn't have the pace or car to out race so he controlled the pace and hopped the field would trip over each other so he could pit under a safety car. Ferrari had to do something and vetted Hamiltons tyres had no life and went for the undercut. If they got in front they could try the one stop or go to 2 stop depending on safety cars and Hamilton/Verstappen response. It would of worked if Vettels out lap was better and he cleared Perez at first ask. They could of tried staying out longer but they couldn't guarantee their own tyres to push or a safety car before then. I don't think Ferrari got it wrong. They done the right thing just maybe a lap or two early plus Vettel kinda messing up clearing Perez. Going forward Russia: Not sure who is favoured. Merc tend to go well here. EJ Made a point of noting Bottas has won here. USA: Traditionally a strong track for Hamilton especially the way he drives the twisty first sector. Mexico: Merc tend not to do well but I think a Toto said they should be competitive compared to previous years Brazil: No idea Abu Dhabi: Ferrari are suppose to be weak. I think I'm missing one....
Ocon had to go for it, he's fighting for a drive next year. To me Perez looked to have straightened out early and let his car hit ocon's. He probably meant to give him a little rub as a warning (rubbing is racing after all), but used too much force and sent him into the barrier. I thought I'd review the footage again and found this cockpit view from sky. To me that's definitely a shove. If they hadn't been behind the safety car he probably would have been, but I think the stewards sent a message to the team to get him in and remove it before they took action.
Yes!! How could I forget it? Think Merc are suppose to be strong there but Ferrari should also be. Grosjean update. Now 3 points away from a race ban
Usually the case race control make the team aware and give them a time to respond, Sirotkin wouldnt be able to see the bit of rim due to his own wheel. Have to say bar his slide with on of the TR's he drove very well. Also, Grojean gets points for blue flags while Perez gets nothing for a clear ramming on Sirotkin and a very iffy move on Ocon. Makes no sense.
Had been thinking just that, what Grosjean did wasn't really dangerous just potentially disruptive towards the leaders race, what perez did was just stupid and dangerous.