I guess it's kind of nice that he will retire at the same team he started with. Hopefully they will have a good car next year.

Sauber seems to be improving, which is good, in a way I wish Kimi would have retired. I do like seeing the extra effort, his form and his personality. All which is refreshing.

But there are a lot of young drivers queuing up. Just for something different.

And maybe Mercedes is correct in having/allowing a third car, for young drivers.

that means 2 more years for Raikkonen in formula-1

Understatement Seb- https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...in-title-fight

Singapore GP: Sebastian Vettel says 'biggest enemy is me' in title fight

I have a feeling they (Ferrari/Sauber) pay raikkonen to stay in Sauber as a Plan B in case if Leclerc doesn't perform up to their standard then they can switch back in 2020... :icon17:

https://www.planetf1.com/news/arriva...not-team-boss/

Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene has said Sebastian Vettel had no say whatsoever in the Scuderia’s driver plans for the 2019 season.

Wow watching qualifying and just saw this about Kimi. Sad to see him go to a team that he’ll have a less chance of winning, but at the same time he’ll shine in his old team and help Sauber move up in the pack next year, I just hope they invest a lot more in the car too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

may be he'll be driving a ferrari with sauber pain-job on it in 2019... :icon18:

Ok after watching todays race, I honestly believe that Ferrari will NOT win another championship with the engineers that they have in place. They need to start listening to the drivers the way that Ross Brawn did with Michael Schumacher.:twocents:

one of the most many many boring races.... :yawn::yawn::yawn:

The combination of management and drivers is toxic this year. Fastest car and falling behind further.............pathetic. Mercedes' and its organization are eating Ferrari for lunch and with a car that is slightly slower.

Vettel is the most over rated WDC on the grid. I used to think it was Kimi. Vettel and pressure are not mixing well currently.

I agree. Another boring Hamilton parade going completely unchallenged with Vettel falling further and further behind in the faster car.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

also another miserable pit strategy from ferrari, pitted the earliest, put on a set of tires that surely won't last til the last lap.

I think they originally want to do a 2-stops, thus put on the ultrasoft to have vettel to do some fast laps before hamilton's stop.

but how can they calculated it wrong on the timing that vettel eventually gets stucked behind a force india(?)....

thus they are force to have vettel to nurse those ultrasoft til the end of the race....

such stupid...

I always wonder, how come they always.. always pit that earlier than the rival..??

it discloses their strategy completely to the others, and 2 races in a row already seeing their drivers suffer from worn tires and have to crawl to the finish line....

same mistakes, over, over and over again..... :facepalm:

Just another example of no matter how beautiful, street circuits suck. I wish they could go back to real road racing and race out in the country like the old Spa or Rouen or Reims, etc. I know...dream on but that would be awesome. Look at all the failed street races we had in the U.S. Detroit , Dallas , Phoenix. They all sucked. That's why I would never even consider going to Miami. COTA is fine.

I think the "hard to pass in street circuit" is only a small factor.

the main reason, which has been on the headline for so many years, is passing is almost impossible in F1 nowadays.

no matter what circuit it is, it's impossible to make a pass.

unless you have a long straight like Spa, Shanghai, Monza...


the modern F1 cars, I think, it's is too rely on aero, they can't run without aero..

so many times you hear from a driver say "when i get too close than I have no traction"

it might sound a backward step but F1 needs to get rid of those complicated aero package.

only with that, teams will be much more even performance wise.

and more passing in a race.


every F1 fan says the old days F1 are a lot more exciting to watch because it has lots of passing, it shows the drivers' gut and courage.

yes, and it is because those days the F1 cars are more simple, less technological, less aero prioritize.

those days, 2 compounds for a race weekend, Qualify compound and Race compound.

2 buttons on the steering wheel, radio and water.

the drivers' job is driving, simple as that..

Sochi Russia GP this weekend!

https://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...e-championship

ESPN F1 preview of the race - 2018 Russian Grand Prix Race Preview

Well not too much to say about today's race. I do like the venue and the track itself, however as a fan of the sport, I would be demanding a refund!!!! No one wins when TEAM ORDERS are put into play like they were in this race.:shakes head:

Yes, Sochi is a very boring circuit and race, same here I never like it.

and it is very very disrespectful to the sports and both drivers with team orders.

from the standpoint of the team, I understand they have to do something to ensure the get the best use of the points they obtain.

and I pretty sure they will do the same thing to hamilton if bottas is leading the table.

but to the sports and the drivers, it looks really bad and disgraceful.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13...-fight-for-win

'Wolff said asking Bottas to hand a win to Hamilton would not be an ideal scenario.

"None of us likes it, because we have seen it in the past from other teams, and we had the discussion between Nico and Lewis," added Wolff.

"Lewis wouldn't want it because he wants to give it a go on his own, and Valtteri wouldn't want it because he needs that win that he didn't have this year." '


so... what the fcuk does he want..!!?? :gtfo2:

he made two statements in one interviews that goes opposite to each other..
:gtfo2:
but it's ok, cos he slap his own face publicly on Sunday.

Mercedes would have been stupid to let Valtteri Bottas beat Lewis Hamilton

I see the logic but overall given the trend of Mercedes this call was not really necessary.

Well leave it up to Ferrari's engineers to screw it up again, this time it was in qualifying. :shakes head:

Max Verstappen threw some shade as he argued the fact that it was no longer a battle for the World Championship.

The Dutchman qualified in P3 for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix after Ferrari’s failings on strategy, once more.

He was asked by David Coulthard as to whether he would get in the way of a Championship battle, should the Ferraris come through the field. His response:

“Is it still a battle? I’m not sure?”

With Sebastian Vettel 50 points behind the Championship leader, Lewis Hamilton, and now starting the Japanese Grand Prix from P9 to the Brit’s pole position, maybe he has a point…

Actually he's was the best quote of the day next to Lewis' polite response to Ferrari's failure in Q3.

towards the end of the season and it's getting towards ultimate boring....

Vettel is no longer composed. He sealed himself out for good. Today was a catastrophic race for him preluded by an uncharateristically bad quali. He drove like the old Max V :stirthepot: It's over. It's been over.

At least the pre-race was better this time. Maybe because Martin Brundle was not there to try and find someone on the grid to talk to him instead of running from him!!!!! :rofl2:

Yes. Noticeable difference without Brundle. Skysports need a fresh coat of paint.

:iagree: BIG TIME!!!!!!

Would have liked to see a little pressure on Lewis, but all and all some excitement this time. Suzuka is awesome. I have never seen overtaking in the Spoon Curve in all the years I've followed F1. Must be something about this generation car.

Ok F1 fans, will today be the day that Hamilton Wins his 5th?? I'm just hoping for another good Race. :tup:

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G950F met Tapatalk

Not much of a 'race' too much 'management' of tires etc. I look foward to next year now. The final races are without too much meaning now. I hope Pirelli offer better tires in the future. Managing tires is not racing.... at all.