F1 Racing Point Belgium GP Thread

by GSC Tue 12 Jun 2018, 4:37 pm

Imagine it'll all be temp like most street circuits

by Guest Fri 15 Jun 2018, 12:29 pm

Renault has signed Mercedes’ head of powertrain integration, Matthew Harman, as its new deputy chief designer. He will join in September.

In other news, it’s been revealed Liberty media have given a loan to Force India. The report added that Vijay Mallya stepped down as part of the loan deal.

by Guest Sun 17 Jun 2018, 10:52 am

Looking like a comfortable win for Alonso, Buemi and Nakajima at Le Mans. With Audi not at Le Mans, it’s made this a dull, processional event this year. I’d expect Alonso to fully commit to IndyCar next year, in chasing this overhyped ‘Triple Crown’.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sun 17 Jun 2018, 2:01 pm

Toyota #8 wins the Le Mans 24hr race to give the Japanese marquee their first win in LMP1. Toyota #7 second a whole lap behind. Good to see Alonso getting wins again despite it not being in F1.

by GSC Mon 18 Jun 2018, 10:25 pm

Red Bull are going with Honda (presumably until Aston Martin enter under new regs)

by Guest Tue 19 Jun 2018, 7:29 am

Not surprised, no other avenues to go down. Should accelerate Ricciardo’s departure, unless he finds himself in the same boat, and neither Ferrari or Merc have actually offered him a role.

by GSC Tue 19 Jun 2018, 9:18 am

Ferrari and Merc dont want a challenger to Vettel or Hamilton. Until one of them is off, he'll be a RB driver.

by GSC Tue 19 Jun 2018, 9:22 am

Doubt Renault are too upset by this given the toys out the pram approach RB have used since 2014. Good luck Honda.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Thu 21 Jun 2018, 8:25 am

McLaren have made a move for Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, offering the Australian a $20m salary. Reportedly that's around a 300% increase on his soon to be expired Red Bull deal. But it would still be vastly behind Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso. Always felt that 'free agent' Ricciardo only had limited options - stay at Red Bull essentially the second driver as Red Bull aren't interested in offering the same contract terms as Verstappen was offered. Then the other options are Renualt and McLaren. Mercedes and Ferrari have a clear first and second driver so why would they rock the boat? Ricciardo simply isn't in the top bracket despite what Sky Sports suggest...

by GSC Thu 21 Jun 2018, 9:08 am

Not hard to read between the lines that Alonsos off.

Very rare that teams will put two top drivers in a car, so a matter of waiting out an opening, like Vettel replacing Alonso at Ferrari.

by GSC Thu 21 Jun 2018, 9:12 am

Still be very surprised if he ends up moving teams though. Max throws away way too many points to be the #1 on a team that has aspirations of winning constructors and drivers titles. 2 year deal makes sense.

by Guest Thu 21 Jun 2018, 9:23 am

Joining a customer McLaren team, with a chassis 1.5s off RB. No chance. $20m a year, is still way off the salaries of the top drivers.

It’s either stay at RB, or join the works Renault team.

by CaledonianCraig Thu 21 Jun 2018, 9:25 am

No brainer. Damny Ricc will stay put.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Thu 21 Jun 2018, 4:20 pm

Whilst Ricciardo May well end up remaining at Red Bull, the true question is ‘will Red Bull ever favour Ricciardo over Verstappen for the championship’? Verstappen crashes a lot, but Red Bull already invested heavily in the young, erratic Dutchman. Let’s be honest Ricciardo isn’t going to get parity on salary however much Christian Horner proclaims that Red Bull want him to stay. Verstappen is their new Vettel, Ricciardo the new Webber. There’s no chance that Mercedes or Ferrari would risk losing their respective quadruple world champions to land Ricciardo whom is frankly a tier below.

Ricciardo knows he’s not realistically going to become world champion at Red Bull, as when they catch up Verstappen will be favoured.

Should Ricciardo ride it out with Red Bull, get half the money of Verstappen for the sporadic win he should he risk it and join McLaren. He’ll get a big pay check and he may well prove he’s capable of being a leading light for McLaren

by CaledonianCraig Thu 21 Jun 2018, 4:55 pm

Ricciardo is not going to starve or be homeless on the pay he gets at Red Bull. He is a racer who wants to be competitive and McLaren (right now) is not the place to move to if he wants to remain competitive. Unless a seat comes along at Ferrari or Mercedes then I see no reason for him to move barring another lesser team making massive improvements and coming in for him which I can't see happening this year.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Thu 21 Jun 2018, 5:29 pm

£4m certainly isn’t a poor mans pay packet, but it’s an ego thing as well. Ricciardo sees himself in the elite bracket (Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel dine at that party). Therefore seeing Verstappen getting £15m despite being a clown at times has got to burn his insides. More so considering that Red Bull don’t appear to want to match Ricciardo and Verstappen’s salaries.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Thu 21 Jun 2018, 5:30 pm

Mercedes might be forced to shelve their b sped engine again. Meaning Hamilton and Bottas will get another brand new first gen engine. Could be costly if Ferrari introduce a third spec engine later in the season

by CaledonianCraig Thu 21 Jun 2018, 6:03 pm

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:£4m certainly isn’t a poor mans pay packet, but it’s an ego thing as well. Ricciardo sees himself in the elite bracket (Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel dine at that party). Therefore seeing Verstappen getting £15m despite being a clown at times has got to burn his insides. More so considering that Red Bull don’t appear to want to match Ricciardo and Verstappen’s salaries.

Regardless of what Verstappen is on wage-wise etc that won't push Ricciardo into signing for a team that will give him worse results than he can get at Red Bull.

by GSC Thu 21 Jun 2018, 7:30 pm

Mercedes powered cars will get a new engine but whether its upgraded will be decided after Friday practice. That will be 2 for the year, so only one upgrade can be introduced without penalties

by GSC Thu 21 Jun 2018, 7:33 pm

Doesn't really matter if Verstappen is the new Vettel, if he keeps binning it, RB would have to favour the driver in front. Vettel made Webber look distinctly 2nd rate once the car evolved to suit him in 2010.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Thu 21 Jun 2018, 7:43 pm

When Verstappen isnt crashing he’s comfortably quicker than Ricciardo hence why Max is the chosen one

by GSC Thu 21 Jun 2018, 8:06 pm

Get more points for finishing than not. Ricciardo has 2 wins this year, Max should've won at least one of them and cost himself a surefire podium and RB a 1-2 each time. Can't make that guy your #1 driver in a car thats fighting uphill in the hybrid era.

by Guest Sat 23 Jun 2018, 10:29 am

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:Mercedes might be forced to shelve their b sped engine again. Meaning Hamilton and Bottas will get another brand new first gen engine. Could be costly if Ferrari introduce a third spec engine later in the season

Interesting to see what unfolds today, and whether it's a carry on from yesterday. Good things come to those that wait, as that new 'Phase 2.1' upgrade, looked to have put the Mercedes back in front.

As for the Paul Ricard. 'meh'. Also, the camera shots are so close.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sat 23 Jun 2018, 3:47 pm

THese low tread tyres which don't degrade are right up Mercedes street. Hamilton fastest than both Ferrari's in Q2 despite using the super soft tyres.

Youngster LeClerc effectively ending Kimi's time at Ferrari. Another stunning display by the Ferrari junior

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sat 23 Jun 2018, 4:10 pm

Hamilton
Bottas
Vettel
Verstappen
Ricciardo
Raikkonen
Sainz
LeClerc
Magnussen
Grosjean(crashed in Q3)

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sat 23 Jun 2018, 7:17 pm

Should be an easy Mercedes 1-2 considering both Hamilton/Bottas are starting on the durable super softs whilst Vettel is in the ultra softs. Could be another Barcelona style borefest

by dyrewolfe Sun 24 Jun 2018, 8:34 am

Have to say the Paul Ricard circuit looks bloody horrible! Agree with the presenter who said all those stripes hurt his eyes. Not so bad when you have a drivers' eye view, but from the air it looks like some strange abstract art project.

Just makes me miss the old style circuits with barriers and gravel traps even more.

Doesn't strike me as a great track for overtaking...hope I'm wrong.

Mercedes' dominance in quali doesn't give me much hope for an interesting race, as far as the podium places are concerned, but maybe we'll get some decent action further down the grid.

Sad to say that, despite the close Hamilton - Vettel title race, I'm starting to lose interest in this season already.

by dyrewolfe Sun 24 Jun 2018, 8:38 am

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:When Verstappen isnt crashing he’s comfortably quicker than Ricciardo hence why Max is the chosen one

Since when? Given that Red Bull have operated an equal driver policy (at least since Seb left). If Ricciardo leaves that may change, but until then there is no "chosen one".

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sun 24 Jun 2018, 12:08 pm

dyrewolfe wrote:
Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:When Verstappen isnt crashing he’s comfortably quicker than Ricciardo hence why Max is the chosen one

Since when? Given that Red Bull have operated an equal driver policy (at least since Seb left). If Ricciardo leaves that may change, but until then there is no "chosen one".

Max with his £15m per season three year deal shows he’s the chosen one. Whereas Red Bull are keeping Ricciardo hanging over a reported £3m pay rise

by Guest Sun 24 Jun 2018, 3:14 pm

Ferrari’s have had a shocker Laugh

Looked like crap driving from Vettel hitting Bottas

by Guest Sun 24 Jun 2018, 4:43 pm

Hamilton wins a relatively easy, French GP. Verstappen second, and Raikkonen third. Vettel causes a first lap crash with Bottas, and drives back to fifth. Alonso won Le Mans last week, and finishes dead last this week.

Hamilton regains the WDC lead

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sun 24 Jun 2018, 5:52 pm

Another race thrown away by Vettel. For a bloke with 4 WDCs he doesn’t half do some stupid things. With the warmer conditions on race day starting on the ultra soft was the right tyre. But crashing brainlessly into the Mercedes of Bottas is moronic. Mercedes new update doesn’t seem all that special. Ferrari has the better package

by Guest Sun 24 Jun 2018, 6:03 pm

Tbh, Hamilton was in control and toying with everyone, and Bottas had floor damage, so their performance upgrade is still an unknown, apart from putting them back on top over 1 lap. Vettel wants to put the doubters to bed about only winning a title with RB. He’s making hard work of it.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sun 24 Jun 2018, 6:07 pm

I disagree regarding the ‘Mercedes being back as best team in qualifying’. You need to remember these where the reduced trim tyres, Mercedes also dominated in Barcelona with these tyres(compounds where different but still reduced trim).

Secondly is was cooler on Saturday/spots of rain, Mercedes are better in those conditions.

Ferrari is unquestionably the best car but Vettel is a clown

by No name Bertie Sun 24 Jun 2018, 6:15 pm

I think Vettel and Verstappen are the two most aggressive drivers. It would be interesting if they were in the same team. With Vettel I think he is just so desperate to win another world championship (it's been a few years since his last one) and to deliver for Ferrari. Verstappen has the head-strongness of youth. Hamilton was once fairly aggressive and he kept getting penalised with point deductions and various other penalties that cost him at least one championship. Hamilton also caused Alonso to go insane.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sun 24 Jun 2018, 6:32 pm

Glad to see Max backed up a quality result in Canada with another great result in France. When Max is at his best he crushed the vastly overrated number 2 driver Ricciardo

by dyrewolfe Mon 25 Jun 2018, 9:20 am

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:
dyrewolfe wrote:
Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:When Verstappen isnt crashing he’s comfortably quicker than Ricciardo hence why Max is the chosen one

Since when? Given that Red Bull have operated an equal driver policy (at least since Seb left). If Ricciardo leaves that may change, but until then there is no "chosen one".
Max with his £15m per season three year deal shows he’s the chosen one. Whereas Red Bull are keeping Ricciardo hanging over a reported £3m pay rise

Well thats a fair enough reason for Ricciardo to be considering his options. RB taking quite a risk then if they are pinning their hopes on Verstappen and presumably promoting Gasly from TR.

Then again they are also taking a big gamble switching to Honda. All pretty astounding when you consider how risk-averse F1 teams usually are.

by dyrewolfe Mon 25 Jun 2018, 9:26 am

Nathaniel Jacobs wrote:I disagree regarding the ‘Mercedes being back as best team in qualifying’. You need to remember these where the reduced trim tyres, Mercedes also dominated in Barcelona with these tyres(compounds where different but still reduced trim).

Secondly is was cooler on Saturday/spots of rain, Mercedes are better in those conditions.

Ferrari is unquestionably the best car but Vettel is a clown

With the engine upgrade Mercedes is still top as far as outright pace goes. Ferrari is the better car aerodynamically. Can follow & overtake more easily.

Oddly I'm inclined not to bash Vettel for once. It was a daft mistake, following Hamilton that close into the corner, but not nearly as bad as some of the stunts he's pulled e.g. Azerbaijan, running into the back of Hamilton and Singapore(?) where he cut across into Raikkonen at the start.

Since I was watching the football I only caught the highlights, but given the big chunks they missed out (leaping forward about 10 laps at a time) the race seemed another snorefest. Even what they did show didn't seem hugely exciting.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Thu 28 Jun 2018, 3:06 pm

McLaren considering Kimi for 2019 if Alonso quits. McLaren are seriously on the slide if Kimi is considered the saviour

by Guest Thu 28 Jun 2018, 3:38 pm

Not surprised to see this rumour flying about, seeing as Ricciardo is going to sign an extension at RB. I can't see Raikkonen wasting his time at McLaren. Vandoorne & Norris does look a poor partnership, so they might just want the Kimi name to keep McLaren relevant, the way Alonso's name does.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sat 30 Jun 2018, 6:26 am

Being reported that Ferrari prodigy Charles LeClerc will sign two year deal to join the Scuderia. 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen heading for WRC

by Guest Sat 30 Jun 2018, 3:02 pm

Mercedes front row lockout, with Bottas in pole. Vettel in third

by GSC Sat 30 Jun 2018, 4:06 pm

And the days of F1 being somewhat interesting are over again. Merc upgrade has been substantial

by Guest Sat 30 Jun 2018, 6:14 pm

Inevitable. Not only the PU upgrade, but the aero package too.

Vettel handed three place penalty, and will start sixth on the grid.

by Guest Sun 01 Jul 2018, 2:44 pm

James Vowles caught sleeping. Merc now covering Vettel with that pit. Verstappen now leads

by Guest Sun 01 Jul 2018, 2:59 pm

James Vowles - ‘I’ve thrown away the win, Lewis’

by Guest Sun 01 Jul 2018, 3:25 pm

Horror day for Mercedes, on & off the track. Hamilton retires.

by dyrewolfe Sun 01 Jul 2018, 3:32 pm

Pretty much everything that could go wrong for Mercedes, did today. Bottas fluffing his start. Team caught napping during the VSC and double DNF. Shocked

Absolute shocker.

Feel for Ricciardo and Hulkenberg too, forced to retire when in good positions.

Good drive by Max to get to the front. Managed the race well afterwards.

Good result for Ferrari. Kinda surprised they didn't have the pace to put more pressure on Max...and even more surprised they didn't order Kimi to move over for Seb.

Driver of the day for me is Alonso...started from the pit but somehow managed to finish 8th.

Good day for Haas with both Grosjean & Magnussen finishing well in the points.

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sun 01 Jul 2018, 3:38 pm

The desperation by Mercedes to introduce the second generation engine comes back to bite them in the rear.

Really pleased for Max, three clean races a third a second and now a win Red Bull's team leading coming of age

by Nathaniel Jacobs Sun 01 Jul 2018, 3:42 pm

Banging result for Haas F1 and more particularly Grosjean

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