F1 - 2017 United States Grand Prix

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 30, 2013
Messages
2,151
Location
Tinton Falls NJ
F1 - 2017 United States Grand Prix

US TV Times:
Practice 1: Friday October 20th, 11:00AM EST , NBCSN
Practice 2: Friday October 20th, 3:00PM EST , NBC Sports Live Extra (re-air 11:00PM on NBCSN)
Practice 3: Saturday October 21st, 12:00PM EST , NBC Sports Live Extra
Qualifying: Saturday October 21st, 4:00PM EST , NBCSN
Race: Sunday October 22nd, 2:00PM EST , NBC

Standings:
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 306
2. Sebastian Vettel, Scuderia Ferrari, 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 234
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 192
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Scuderia Ferrari, 148
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 111
7. Sergio Perez, Sahara Force India, 82
8. Esteban Ocon, Sahara Force India, 65
9. Carlos Sainz, Scuderia Toro Rosso, 48
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault Sport F1, 34
Constructors
1. Mercedes AMG Petronas, 540
2. Scuderia Ferrari, 395
3. Red Bull Racing, 303
4. Sahara Force India, 147
5. Williams Martini Racing, 66
6. Scuderia Toro Rosso, 52
7. Haas F1 Team, 43
8. Renault Sport, F1 42
9. McLaren-Honda, 23
10. Sauber, 5

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

d3103011d579492182984e878ef10084.jpg
 
Chance of rain each day. That would be fantastic!

Even if HAM ends up winning WDC, I'd at least like to see it come down to the last race or two. That would require something happening to him here...

As I said in the STR thread, I think Haas could come up big this weekend at their home GP. Reason being: with two new drivers on the grid, new-driver-heroics are certainly possible, but the more likely scenario is the new drivers will be slightly off pace while they learn the machinery. In order for this to work Haas has to get the tires to work which is something they have struggled with.
 
I hope Vettel can win one, and Hamilton breaks down just to make the title fight interesting. Or a wet race is always good!

OT, I hope Kubica did well in the Williams test session, it would be good to see him back and Williams could make a special steering wheel to help out his right wrist.
 
Kubica's return adventure is like gossip central in F1 circles. The same might be said for McLaren dumping Honda for Renault.

It's too bad that the only way a driver can win is to have the one an only best car on the grid while having the second best car as a teammate with orders to behave.
 
I also hope VET wins and HAM breaks down...during a wet race.

I'm not buying into the whole Kubica thing yet. I'd rather see Di Resta in the seat.
 
I think all this talk about Kubica is a lot of wishful thinking and nothing more. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy. But he's 32 years old, and has been out of Formula 1 since he almost got his forearm ripped completely off in February 2011. So while it's always nice to see someone recover enough from an injury of that magnitude, I wouldn't get my hopes up of him remotely going anywhere in the sport of F1. At best he'll be making good on a promise to return, that he made shortly after the injury. And everyone likes to see that. Besides, Renault currently has far more problems being competitive, than Kubica could ever hope to save them from.
 
Strange, but it seems that Williams has a penchant for injured drivers overcoming adversity.
Massa came back from dain bramage a few years ago when a suspension spring hit him in the head.
I've always admired Kubica's intense desire to overcome the odds to become an F1 driver. When he started out, he was considered too big to be in F1. He took on a serious diet and workout regimen to lose weight, and became a competitive F1 driver. His determination to remain a racing driver after his crash I think makes him legendary in his will to overcome.
 
Flawless again from Lewis.

Bottas again lets him down.

Verstappen fantastic again. It would be great if he replaced Bottas at Mercedes or Raikkonen at Ferrari.
 
I’m wondering how much they paid Wet Willie to stand like an ornament in the hot Texas sun?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Reggaemon
Max was robbed!


It just shows more of the politics and inconsistencies in rule application in Formula 1. What's OK for some guys to do, isn't for others. According to the rules Max was not robbed. (All 4 wheels left the racing surface in order for him to pass Kimi. Which clearly allowed him to, "gain an advantage" in track position). He was held to a standard the others were not, who did the same thing earlier in the race.

This is the kind of silly nonsense that really turns me off about F1. Yeah, it happens occasionally in all racing. But not to the large degree, or as obvious as it seems to in Grand Prix racing. Max all but named the steward who keeps deciding against him. And the announcer didn't disagree with him. If it's that blatant then it becomes a personal beef. And that is pure B.S. and should not decide the outcome of races. And it's one of the many reasons I'm getting fed up watching it.
 
I agree that there is a lack of consistency but also that it was the right decision (technically). I don't buy the line that many were using: "everyone was abusing limits on various turns on every lap" - if everybody was doing it then nobody was gaining an advantage. In Max's case he essentially cut the corner to overtake, gaining a significant and lasting advantage. Bottas did gain advantage at T1 when he went off-track and retained his position (at least once) but wasn't punished. Fair enough to complain about that one. Further on Max's case, Kimi saw him coming and actually left enough room for him to overtake without fully leaving the track.

That said, Kimi was obviously not concerned about the pass at the time, other than being very disappointed with losing the podium place. So disappointed in fact that he backed off and was just over 4 seconds behind Max over the line - if he'd dropped back a little bit more the 5 second penalty would not have helped him!
 
Originally Posted By: CharlieBauer
Flawless again from Lewis.

Bottas again lets him down.

Bottas works for Mercedes, not Hamilton. And Hamilton appears to not need any help.
 
Exciting start, boring middle, and an exciting end is how I'd summarize the GP.

It was nice to see VET fight off the line and into turn 1. Merc. simply has a few more HP that they can seemingly deploy at will.

Shame for McLaren. VAN showed some mixed pace, fast at times, slower at others. I'm not sure whether this was by design. Real shame for ALO. He was running well as he usually does and then...MGU-H failure, just when we thought they had the issues resolved. Hasegawa has stated development is continuing but indicated that at least one driver will finish the season with the current spec. engine.

Renault continues to enjoy cover from their own serious issues c/o Honda's more publicly lamented failures. Between two teams, Renault lost two cars in one race due to PU issues.

Speaking of Renault, my assessment of SAI was wrong. He sure took to the R.S.17 like a fish to water and turned in a spectacular weekend.

I was kind of hoping for more from HAR in the race. However he has a great attitude and the media coverage suggests the team were happy with the performance and his feedback. I hope his F1 journey is not over yet.

I had high hopes for Haas but not only could they not get the tires working, the engineers had both drivers on poor tire strategies. Hoping to see a recovery in Mexico.

Now for "the move"... Someone basically said rules are rules and the penalty was deserved. Perhaps, but that's not the issue. In the post-race coverage at least three incidents were cited where, in different turns, a driver went wide and gained what could be considered an advantage (two were BOT and I forget the third example). So if the rule is going to be applied selectively it's not a rule. VER's chase and move were brilliant and should've counted based on stewarding earlier in the race. Fix the rules or fix the stewarding, but whatever they do, taking moves like that away from F1 and the fans is NOT what the sport needs.
 
Selectively allowing rules to be broken just to make for a better show is a terrible idea. Rules are rules. Verstappen broke one and was 'rewarded' with a podium for his efforts and it was quickly taken away as it should have been. That move got him on the podium so of course race direction and the stewards are going to analyze it with a microscope. What precedent would it set if they had done nothing? How would that have been fair to Raikkonen and Ferrari?

Were there other examples of rule-bending further down the order earlier in the race? I'm sure there was. Just like in every other race. Some are more conspicuous than others. It happens and the stewards need to decide the severity of the offense and if it deserves punishment. I'm sure half the time it sorts itself out by the offender blowing the next corner or whatever so they don't intervene. Verstappen's pass was two corners from the end of the race so it would not have sorted itself out, and it got him a podium. That could not stand. Fair play and Horner should recognize that even if Max can't.

Most people seem to want illegal Zanadri-like heroics in the closing laps just to make up for how boring the previous 50 were, rules be [censored]. That's not how it works.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top