F1 - 2017 Austrian Grand Prix

gofast182 · Jul 6, 2017

F1 - 2017 Austrian Grand Prix

US TV Times:
Practice 1, Friday July 7th, 4:00AM EST , NBC Sports Live Extra
Practice 2, Friday July 7th, 8:00AM EST , NBCSN
Practice 3, Saturday July 8th,5:00AM EST , NBC Sports Live Extra
Qualifying, Saturday July 8th, 8:00AM EST , NBCSN
Race, Sunday July 9th, 8:00AM EST , CNBC

Standings:
Drivers
1. Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari, 153
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 139
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 111
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 92
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Scuderia Ferrari, 73
Constructors
1. Mercedes AMG Petronas, 250
2. Scuderia Ferrari, 226
3. Red Bull Racing, 137
4. Sahara Force India, 79
5. Williams Martini Racing, 40

For more, including track data, analysis, and video please check out my full post on TOV Motorsports.

Garak · Jul 6, 2017

I'm eagerly waiting. Go Vettel! (Before Bottom Feeder comes in and reminds us of his preferences.

)

Bottom_Feeder · Jul 6, 2017

Looks like the Golden Boy's ego took a hit but I doubt it'll change anything. He'll probably become even more of a petulant child to make up for it while Hamilton's head is a bit more swollen than usual due to 'winning' the situation. I'm VERY happy their bromance is over.

That said, I love older European tracks like this one, set in the hills and thick forests like Spa and old Hockenheim rather than in the middle of the desert in a 'new money' oil-rich country on a track designed by a computer. The Red Bull Ring layout is somewhat basic but the elevation changes and fast straights are great.

IndyIan · Jul 6, 2017

Should be interesting now to see some close racing between HAM and VET! I'd like Kimi to do well, and maybe the two leaders will take each other out, but he's 3 race wins behind...

Garak · Jul 6, 2017

The only thing Vettel regrets is that he won't be able to retract his apology in a few weeks like he did with Mark Webber over Multi 21.

Bottom_Feeder · Jul 7, 2017

Yep. A situation he consulted his lawyer over. What a tool.

Garak · Jul 7, 2017

Considering it was a quasi-legal process, that was a good idea.

gofast182 · Jul 7, 2017

Interesting practice sessions today. Lots of offs as the drivers find the limits and seem to struggle for rear grip. However, general order seems to be restored at the top of the grid.

Its about time we see VER's equipment work and he puts on a great drive so I'm hoping for good things from him this weekend.

McLaren Honda seems to have genuinely picked up a bit of pace with ALO and VAN in the top 10 for most of FP2 (ALO finished 8th). I'm keeping expectations in check but it was/is only a matter of time before Honda starts delivering meaningful steps in performance.

Good to see MAG up in 7th for Haas in FP2.

Really surprising to see Force India and Williams have all 4 cars down the order between them P11-P17.

gofast182 · Jul 7, 2017

And just to spice things up, HAM will incur a 5 grid spot penalty for a gearbox change.

(IMO the gearbox penalty is F-ing ridiculous and should be abolished immediately)

Garak · Jul 7, 2017

In the off track side of things, Carlos Sainz Jr got slapped down by Christian Horner, and Jr and Sr both got blasted in the media by Helmut Marko. The interview snippets are on the Autosport and Motorsport sites.

As for the grid penalties, sure, they're a pain, but weren't the big OEMs (i.e. Mercedes) the ones pushing for the reliability aspect in the first place?

Brad_C · Jul 8, 2017

Originally Posted By: Garak
In the off track side of things, Carlos Sainz Jr got slapped down by Christian Horner, and Jr and Sr both got blasted in the media by Helmut Marko. The interview snippets are on the Autosport and Motorsport sites.

Some interesting points made. You have to admit, Sainz is a good driver (which is why Red Bull want to keep him), but he's as frustrated as all get out because they are not capable of giving him a competitive car. So while Horner can make snide remarks about the investment they've got in him and how he's tied down, on the other hand they can't give him a capable car and he's perfectly entitled to be frustrated and interested in moving to a team that can.

Red Bull need to get their stuff together. They have 3.5 drivers who are actually quite good, but they can't even give winning machines to their 2 "top" drivers. Of course they are going to get itchy feet.

As for Helmut Marko, I've always thought he needed a punch in the face, but my opinion may be tainted by the way he treated Webber for years.

Back to the race, going to be interesting seeing if Hamilton can make up a couple of places. It'll be nice to see the end of the media beat up between Vettel and Hamilton and give them something else to concentrate on.

Garak · Jul 9, 2017

Well, he needs to find a way out of his contract then, and hope that Mercedes or Ferrari have a spot for him.

I'm sure Hamilton will make up more than a couple places, as hard as it is for me to admit that.

I'm sure he'll do fine. At the race start, I suspect Vettel will be leading after Valtteri and Kimi make their customary contact, even though they'll have to contrive a bit to do it this time around.

Whitewolf · Jul 9, 2017

Originally Posted By: gofast182
And just to spice things up, HAM will incur a 5 grid spot penalty for a gearbox change.

(IMO the gearbox penalty is F-ing ridiculous and should be abolished immediately)

I'm with you on that!

Whitewolf · Jul 9, 2017

The grid penalty thing is now quite stupid in my opinion. It does not accomplish anything other than to intoduce confusion and to introduce more danger by having faster cars further back in the grid than where they should probably be.

Brad_C · Jul 9, 2017

Originally Posted By: Whitewolf
The grid penalty thing is now quite stupid in my opinion. It does not accomplish anything other than to intoduce confusion and to introduce more danger by having faster cars further back in the grid than where they should probably be.

I don't see danger, I see a bit of excitement as the out of place cars try and make it back up.

I'm not a Hamilton fan anyway but let's see if he can do the job when he's not out front in clean air.

Bottom_Feeder · Jul 9, 2017

Originally Posted By: Brad_C
As for Helmut Marko, I've always thought he needed a punch in the face, but my opinion may be tainted by the way he treated Webber for years.

Ain't that the truth.

Brad_C · Jul 9, 2017

Alonso just can't catch a break! Verstappen was shagged before the shunt anyway but Alonso had reasonable prospects based on Quali.

Brad_C · Jul 9, 2017

Boring race bar the first and the last lap. Great result though.

Garak · Jul 9, 2017

Originally Posted By: Whitewolf
The grid penalty thing is now quite stupid in my opinion. It does not accomplish anything other than to intoduce confusion and to introduce more danger by having faster cars further back in the grid than where they should probably be.

I agree it's not ideal, but what do we do? Taking away constructors points does reduce some of the drivers' responsibility to also take good care of the car.

As for the danger, sure there's a little more, but it's not like we're having a Viper in a traffic jam with Cavalier. In any event, Hamilton did quite well; he's a big enough boy to handle traffic.

Kimi really has to start stepping things up, already.

Brad_C · Jul 9, 2017

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: Whitewolf
The grid penalty thing is now quite stupid in my opinion. It does not accomplish anything other than to intoduce confusion and to introduce more danger by having faster cars further back in the grid than where they should probably be.

I agree it's not ideal, but what do we do? Taking away constructors points does reduce some of the drivers' responsibility to also take good care of the car.

There's a couple of points. Yes, drivers have to look after the machine, but also the hardware has to be built to last. Without the penalties we go back to the old days of 3 engines a weekend. Take away the gearbox penalties and we'll be back to fragile drivetrains built to last one race. It was originally about cost saving, and I suspect it still is. This way if they want a chop at the championship they need to build to last the required number of laps.

Originally Posted By: Garak
Kimi really has to start stepping things up, already.

Was it his fault though? I thought there were power unit issues very early in the race and he was in (relatively high speed) caretaker mode for the majority of the race. Enough to keep the car in the points but not enough to be competitive. Still need the constructor points so they keep him out there.

He's certainly not as exceptional as Vettel, but he's a pretty consistent number 2 driver (and let's face it, that's what they need). All the better drivers are under contract, so keep him around until something better comes along. He'd still be top 6.

F1 - 2017 Austrian Grand Prix

Similar threads