F1 2019 season

[sun_tzu]

10 short wins from Schumi's record. Never thought i might see someone break it.

Lewis in 241 gp
Schumacher in 308 gp (though 58 of those for Merc when he came out of retirement.

If Merc deliver a good car next year and nect it's conceivable he could end up with a hundred wins from around 300gp and possibly match Schumacher's number of titles ... Goat?... Certainly in the conversation with Fangio senna and Schumacher

 

[slyadams]

This win is entirely on Lewis. The strategy call wasn’t actually that hard to make. I’m by no means an F1 expert, but even I mused the lap before they pitted him “why not bring him in, he’d have over 20 laps to make up 20 seconds” and Max’s tyres were always going to go off. The hards were scheduled for 50, Max’s would have been 45, but Lewis made him take all the life out of them.

I think on the grid only Max could have done what Lewis did, but I genuinely believe in the same position the other 9 teams would have made the same strategy call if they had Lewis in the car.

I’m not sure I remember a race where the top 2 were so far ahead of everyone else.

 

[sglowrider]

Lewis passed the Dutchie on the left hand side.

Drive of a champion.

 

[Fridge chutney]

Lewis passed the Dutchie on the left hand side.

Drive of a champion.

And true. This lad from Stevenage is the best driver in the world right now.

 

[Grinner]

Don't forget the great move that Lewis did to pass Bottas right at the start too. He had fire in his belly from the off.

 

[Leg-End]

It was fantastic watching the two best drivers on the grid go head to head, at one point a minute ahead of the field. Great clean racing.

 

[Buster15]

Don't forget the great move that Lewis did to pass Bottas right at the start too. He had fire in his belly from the off.

Also that incredible attack on Verstappen following the first tyre change. It went from about 6 seconds to less than 1 in just a few laps.
Yes he has an excellent car but it takes a very special driver to be able to deliver the team tactics.

Bottas started the season very well. But typical of Hamilton, he is so relentless that he just wears down his team mate confidence.
We will miss him when he finishes, especially Mercedes-Benz.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Can't Merc buy Verstappen from Red Bull next year so Lewis and him can duke it out in the same car? Or is that not how it works?

 

[Wicked_Badger]

Can't Merc buy Verstappen from Red Bull next year so Lewis and him can duke it out in the same car? Or is that not how it works?

They technically could. But won’t. It cost a fortune & upset Hamilton.

I think Verstappen had a buy out clause based on Red Bull performance in his contract but they’ve met that over the last couple of races, so it’d be even more to grab him now.

 

[KirkDuyt]

They technically could. But won’t. It cost a fortune & upset Hamilton.

I think Verstappen had a buy out clause based on Red Bull performance in his contract but they’ve met that over the last couple of races, so it’d be even more to grab him now.

Wouldn't he welcome the challenge? I'd love the chance to put that snotty little brat in his place. The massive Verstappen lovetrain in The Netherlands annoys me. But I guess it's because I'm a contrarian fecker. Everyone I know is suddenly into F1 since he's in it.

 

[Wicked_Badger]

Wouldn't he welcome the challenge? I'd love the chance to put that snotty little brat in his place. The massive Verstappen lovetrain in The Netherlands annoys me. But I guess it's because I'm a contrarian fecker. Everyone I know is suddenly into F1 since he's in it.

I suspect he would to an extent. But I also think he’s extremely focussed on breaking all remaining records & equalling or surpassing Schumacher’s world championship wins. Having Verstappen in the team instead of Bottas/Ocon would threaten that more.

I don’t think Merc would go for it either. They don’t need the headache of another Rosberg type scenario and it’d probably escalate even more than that year did.

I see him replacing Hamilton once he retires.

I’m not a Verstappen fan at all, but can appreciate his talent. He’s a spoilt brat but pretty gifted. The more fans he brings the better, as F1 has struggled in recent years to capture the imagination of younger audiences. We just need a few more like him with similar followings (Norris, LeClerc?) to really spice up the sport.

 

[Leg-End]

I don't think Merc will rock the boat whilst they are on a good thing, Max is the natural replacement for Hamilton and the timings may line up on it. I think they are more likely to give Ocon the seat (rightly or wrongly) if they dump Bottas.

 

[Wicked_Badger]

I don't think Merc will rock the boat whilst they are on a good thing, Max is the natural replacement for Hamilton and the timings may line up on it. I think they are more likely to give Ocon the seat (rightly or wrongly) if they dump Bottas.

Largely agree, but I don’t see them risking sticking Ocon in the seat either. He can be fiesty/crashy with his teammate.

Got a feeling that Gasly will be dropped & the Hulk ends up in the 2nd Red Bull which will leave the Renault seat for Ocon.

 

[Leg-End]

Largely agree, but I don’t see them risking sticking Ocon in the seat either. He can be fiesty/crashy with his teammate.

Got a feeling that Gasly will be dropped & the Hulk ends up in the 2nd Red Bull which will leave the Renault seat for Ocon.

I don't think Ocon would be near Hamilton's level to be as much of a hindrance to be honest. I think Merc will play boring and keep Bottas for one more year.

If Red Bull drop Gasly I think they will go internal again, it's Max's team now so the second seat is a support role which Gasly is perfect for, he's just under performed massively.

 

[Hephaestus]

Largely agree, but I don’t see them risking sticking Ocon in the seat either. He can be fiesty/crashy with his teammate.

Got a feeling that Gasly will be dropped & the Hulk ends up in the 2nd Red Bull which will leave the Renault seat for Ocon.

I'm torn. On the one hand I would love for Hulkenberg to get a better car and show what he can do but the closer he gets to the podium, the more things go wrong. I'd be surprised if Kyvat didn't get it though.

 

[RedFish]

Largely agree, but I don’t see them risking sticking Ocon in the seat either. He can be fiesty/crashy with his teammate.

Got a feeling that Gasly will be dropped & the Hulk ends up in the 2nd Red Bull which will leave the Renault seat for Ocon.

I'd be surprised if he would try any shit with Lewis. Theres only one winner there and it's not Ocon!

 

[vangagal]

They technically could. But won’t. It cost a fortune & upset Hamilton.

I think Verstappen had a buy out clause based on Red Bull performance in his contract but they’ve met that over the last couple of races, so it’d be even more to grab him now.

I've heard Crofty and Brundler said it after race. There's rumour flying around that a clausul in Max's contract can get him out of RB easily if he deliver into 2nd in WDC. Maybe wrong but its believable considering RB Honda was unknown quantity going into this season.

 

[RedFish]

I'm torn. On the one hand I would love for Hulkenberg to get a better car and show what he can do but the closer he gets to the podium, the more things go wrong. I'd be surprised if Kyvat didn't get it though.

That would be a lovely turn around of fortune for the lad. Just became a dad too. Good on him.

 

[Zlaatan]

Nico Rosberg claims that Verstappen's can't leave Red Bull until 2021 at the earliest. Max's contract apparently states that if he's in the top 3 at the summer break of 2019 (which he is) then he has to stay for another year.

 

[Grinner]

I don't see Max as being a 'spoilt brat'. He's just a superb driver who knows what he can do. He does push the limit with his overtaking though but that's not always a bad thing.

 

[Henrik Larsson]

Wouldn't he welcome the challenge? I'd love the chance to put that snotty little brat in his place. The massive Verstappen lovetrain in The Netherlands annoys me. But I guess it's because I'm a contrarian fecker. Everyone I know is suddenly into F1 since he's in it.

Orange tinted glasses are quite annoying at times I agree, but it's definitely not worse than how the British people on here react to Lewis for example - if anything it's actually slightly better. Compared to Lewis, Max isn't really the spoiled or cocky one either, though I quite like it when Lewis gets a bit cocky and it's also fully justified based on his career.

I know some guys over here who are so obsessed with Verstappen that I can understand why the hype can get on your nerves though, my word there's some weird fanboys out there

Guess you should've jumped on the hype train yourself after Cruijff visited him just before he died and Verstappen somehow ended up winning Barcelona soon after, you would've really enjoyed following his development from there. Big part of the problem with the hype is also that Verstappen's simply the real deal, he really is insanely good for his age and in terms of talent as a driver he's more unique than Frenkie as a footballer for instance.

 

[Skills]

Can't Merc buy Verstappen from Red Bull next year so Lewis and him can duke it out in the same car? Or is that not how it works?

Would be too expensive. They just need a driver good enough to guarantee them the constructors championship - and Bottas is good enough to do that. Verstappen & Hamilton would probably crash each other off the grid enough for someone else to sneak a title.

 

[RedFish]

I don't see Max as being a 'spoilt brat'. He's just a superb driver who knows what he can do. He does push the limit with his overtaking though but that's not always a bad thing.

He's matured a hell of a lot in a short space of time. He's as precocious as they come both as a driver and the ability to handle the extreme pressure.

More risk adverse but not overly cautious, he has become one reliable, fast, motherfecker.

He's also become less of a dick. I like him.

 

[Grinner]

I think to be a champion you have to be a bit of a dick. Arrogance less so if you can back it up. The days of Jackie Stewart and the gentleman driver are long gone.

 

[Rooney1987]

So The Times are reporting F1 in talks with Saudi Arabia to host race. I really hope this isn't true. Liberty not of to the best starts, tv deals in Europe taking it of recent terrestrial tv and another money track to add to China, Russia, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Abu Dhabi

 

[Wicked_Badger]

I don't see Max as being a 'spoilt brat'. He's just a superb driver who knows what he can do. He does push the limit with his overtaking though but that's not always a bad thing.

Yeah, I maybe should’ve qualified that with ‘he’s matured hugely over the tail end of last season & beginning of this’.

I also don’t particularly like his dad either, which has probably skewed my view slightly. And I wasn’t particularly impressed with his moving under braking in his first couple of seasons. It was hugely dangerous.

He’s an immense driver, with huge experience at such a young age. It’d be a massive surprise if he doesn’t win at least one championship, and based on this season, would be deserved.

I do like my F1 drivers to be a bit cocky too.

 

[Buster15]

I think to be a champion you have to be a bit of a dick. Arrogance less so if you can back it up. The days of Jackie Stewart and the gentleman driver are long gone.

My friend. Sir Jackie Stewart was hardly a gentleman driver.
He was certainly a driving genius but was every bit as aggressive as was necessary to win races and world championships.
He was very hard but also fair and of course highly safety concious. He used his fame and position to take on the racing establishment in order to improve the terrible lack of safety; both of the cars and the circuits.

 

[F-Red]

Liberty not of to the best starts, tv deals in Europe taking it of recent terrestrial tv

They've inherited those TV deals.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

So we are the summer 4 week break, in what has been I think a decent season so far , Lewis looks to be homing in on WC number 6.
Max is looking more and more like a WC with every race.
This is the Fantasy League standings.
Cartman has been top since race 1 , but his lead has been reduced the past few races.
Good luck in the send half of the season.

1st eric cartman Cartman 937 X
2nd screech44 Redfish-Alfa 907 X
3rd evan7788 altodevil86 891 X
4th pauldyson1uk Billy Jack Racing 850 X
5th venkman Toyoda 843 X
6th spwd MANSELLS MOUSTACHE, 826 X
7th impulse Team 3 820 X
8th vangagal Team Skytrain 802 X
9th jd094 Mirror, Signal, Maldonado 801 X
10th balljy RedShift 793 X
11th paulscholes18 Scholesy 789 X
12th hephaestus Horizon F1 752 X
13th flavio Randomhero Racing 750 X
14th igord TeamShamilton 748 X
15th senorgregster Hamilton Academical 736 X
16th dargonk Dargon's crew 721 X
17th coleworld Coleworrrld 694 X
18th dudu Dudu Droids 681 X
19th christy87 Langers on a mission 601 X
20th seb_87 Red_Sky_87 476 X

Next race is Spa Belgium 1st September, lights out at 14:10 (UK TIME)

 

[Leg-End]

Albon replaces Gasly, was always coming I think.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Red Bull have dropped Pierre Gasly and appointed Alex Albon as Max Verstappen's new team-mate.

The change will take place with immediate effect, starting at next month's Belgian GP.
Was always on the cards to be honest.

 

[RedFish]

Albon replaces Gasly, was always coming I think.

What a chance for Albon.

 

[Leg-End]

What a chance for Albon.

In at the deep end for him but it certainly is, hope he takes it

 

[SilentWitness]

Tough decision for them too regarding Albon and Kvyat. With Kvyat he deserves it more but I think it's the best decision to not destabilise him while he's in this form. With Albon it can go either way and it's riskier for him as a driver rather than Red Bull. He'll either step up or it will be too soon for him like it was for Kvyat. They did need to make a change though. Gasly was pants.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Albon replaces Gasly, was always coming I think.

Guess who has him in his Fantasy League and cant transfer him out, that will be me OH well he has got me a few points !

 

[RedFish]

Guess who has him in his Fantasy League and cant transfer him out, that will be me OH well he has got me a few points !

Why not, have you made your 2 transfers already?

 

[pauldyson1uk]

Why not, have you made your 2 transfers already?

yeap I did before the news broke , like a clown.
Not very often I do but did, changed aero and chassis

 

[RedFish]

yeap I did before the news broke , like a clown.
Not very often I do but did, changed aero and chassis

Ah man, unlucky. Have you played the joker ? I don't even know if that's an option this year

 

[17Larsson]

Bottas stays with Mercedes next year. Not sure he's earned it but they'll walk the championship again next year regardless of who is in that seat so no point rocking the boat from their point of view I suppose.

Shame for everyone else though as if the other cars can't up their game we need a Rosberg/Hamilton type battle to keep things interesting at the top

 

[Wicked_Badger]

Largely agree, but I don’t see them risking sticking Ocon in the seat either. He can be fiesty/crashy with his teammate.

Got a feeling that Gasly will be dropped & the Hulk ends up in the 2nd Red Bull which will leave the Renault seat for Ocon.

Nearly got it right - apart from the Hulk thing! Although he might still end up there if Albon flops.