Formula 1 World Championship 2018 Season Discussion

By Chasethebase
in The Sporting Arena

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Grand Master

+John. Subscriber¹

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Norris to start for them next year! Interesting.

 

Also had Vettel mucking up any chance of closing the gap yet again...

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Grand Master

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Sad times, I'm not sure Kimi has really deserved that seat for some time but he's still a great driver and one that will be missed if this is the end of his F1 career.

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philcruicks

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That's good news thought, it would have been a shame to lost him and Alonso in the same year and hopefully he can bring some good investment and driver knowledge to develop the car.

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Grand Master

SnoopZ

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Lewis Hamilton extends his championship lead to 40 points with a win at Singapore, not looking good for Vettel with only 6 races left.

 

1st Lewis Hamilton

2nd Max Verstappen

3rd Sebastian Vettel

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Billus

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Ferrari's strategy calls have been pretty appaling this season. First, it was Raikkonen who beared the brunt and now Vettel. They have been time and time again, been outclassed and outplayed by Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton. Surely something has to change within their strategy team. Monza, for example, was a display of Ferrari being spooked by Mercedes, leading to Raikonnen being forced into an early pit stop onto tyres they had not tested once during the entirety of the weekend. His entire race crumbled due to the incompetence of the strategy team. Sure, we can argue Raikkonen was too aggressive on his tyres on his charge to maintain a gap as well as his failure to get past Bottas, but surely it was Ferrari who urged Raikkonen on to keep on attacking. Perhaps they did (I haven't heard anything to suggest this though), but they should have informed him about his gap to Hamilton and immediately told him to slow his pace when Hamilton re-emerged from the pits. There was no reason to keep on Bottas's tail as he clearly had the pace to keep Hamilton's Mercedes behind him. It's not as if Bottas could sandwich him out if Raikkonen kept his tyres in check and he would have to pitted eventually due to Vettel catching up.

 

It's going to be desperate times for Ferrari as they attempt to claw their way back to at least challenge Mercedes for the Drivers and Constructors World Championships. Not sure how they will achieve it but I'm hoping this leads to a more aggressive Vettel and creates more interesting races. Hamilton's ability to control a race, shown again tonight, has to be applauded. 

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Grand Master

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Merc has had its fair share of bad strategy calls over the years but Ferrari is for sure ending their own title chances. Even when it's not a bad strategy call then it's a mistake from the driver that seems to be creeping in. When Vettel had his string of WDC title's he was pretty faultless the whole time. 

 

I did see someone ask an interesting question on Reddit just yesterday, questioning if Ferrari have forgotten what it is to fight for a title and I'm inclined to agree. Ferrari is getting drawn into silly tactic decisions instead of running their own races.

 

With 6 races left, outside of a mechanical failure on Hamilton's car it's almost a done deal now. Vettel can still win the WDC by winning the remaining races even with Hamilton finishing up 2nd by two points, but I wouldn't call any of the tracks left a sure-fire victory for Ferrari. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
Grand Master

MightyJordan

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3 hours ago, philcruicks said:

Well ######. Guess everyone's repair bills are going up next year...

Damn the torpedoes!

 

Still, could be worse...

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Grand Master

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I'm hoping Ferrari are sandbagging here as those are some pretty big gaps!

 

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43203579_1176509212506059_53699222163328

 

 

On the subject of gaps I found this a pretty interesting read....

 

Quote

The competition's GPS data shows it clearly: Ferrari's advantage on the straight has disappeared for two races. Did Mercedes catch up or did Ferrari Power have to turn back? And what role does a neur FIA sensor play on the Ferrari?

It started with the GP Austria. At the Red Bull Ring, the competition for the first time registered that Ferrari was exceptionally fast in selected laps at selected points on the circuit. The mysterious thrust always appeared in the second third of the straight. So at a moment when the propulsion is determined only by the engine power and air resistance of the car. In the last part of the straight line, the speeds between Ferrari and Mercedes then resumed.

Ferrari explained the phenomenon with an efficient aerodynamics and a clever power management. Mercedes and Renault pushed the time gain on the straight line exclusively to the drive. There were many possible explanations, which could well be behind it

From a secret energy storage to short-term injection of more fuel blended with oil. Some suspect that Ferrari cools down the fuel in the injectors, others said that oil from the cooling circuit of the batteries is being introduced into the combustion process. Unlike oil, this oil is neither specified nor limited in its consumption.

The FIA dismissed all the bad rumors always: "What makes Ferrari, is legal." The energy output of the battery was therefore always within the allowed four megajoules and the output of the MGU-K power never exceeded 120 kilowatts (163 hp). Doubters got the answer: "It does not matter how much power is delivered, but on the when and how."

Mercedes, Renault and Honda have so far tried in vain to get behind the secret. For Mercedes, the resolution of the mystery of WM was crucial. Ferrari took the silver arrows at the Red Bull Ring, Silverstone, Hockenheim, Budapest, Spa and Monza depending on the distance between 0.3 and 0.5 seconds alone on the straights.

But since the race in Singapore Ferrari's advantage on the straight has suddenly disappeared. "We clearly see that in our GPS measurements," reveals Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul. Mercedes drives in all areas of the straight suddenly at eye level with the red cars.

Also at the start in Russia. As Sebastian Vettel had pushed past Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes briefly, before he lost ground again. Is it a coincidence that Mercedes has been ahead again since the GP Singapore? Mercedes engine chief Andy Cowell makes it clear: "They still have plenty of power in the second third of the straight." And team boss Toto Wolff believes: "They are still slightly superior to the engine."

Nevertheless, one was in the scene noisy. Why did the advantage of accelerating between 180 and 260 km / h disappear from one race to another? Did the opponents catch up, or did Ferrari have to back off? From FIA circles, we hear that for some time now a second sensor has been installed on all Ferrari drive units that measures the energy flow. It gives you more confidence to measure what you want to measure.

Why Ferrari? Because the Italians are the only ones using an energy storage system that couples two batteries. When asked which race exactly the second sensor was installed, there is no answer from the World Association.

From Renault we learn that Ferrari's competitors have actively pushed the case. It was possible to prove that the energy flow could not be measured beyond doubt with the old method. To be legally on the safe side, the measurement process had to be refined.

Whether this has something to do with the fact that Ferrari has lost time in Singapore and Russia on the Mercedes, is pure speculation. Because Ferrari has not only lost its superiority on the straights, but was partly slower in the bends. Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul explains it this way: "If they should have less power, they may not be able to drive the wing adjustment from before and have to return with the downforce."

 

 

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Grand Master

SnoopZ

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Lewis wins, it must be game over for Vettels championship chances now unless Lewis has some races where he doesn't finish?

 

1. Lewis 👍

2. Valterri

3. Max

 

6. Vettel

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philcruicks

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Well that's the championship right there, what an absolute fail by Ferrari, bad strategy and Quali mistake by Vettel has just thrown it away.

 

And here was me hoping for a final race fight to win the championship.

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