F1 - 2019 French Grand Prix

[gofast182]

F1 - 2019 French Grand Prix

US TV Times:
Practice 1 - Friday, June 21, 4:55 AM - ESPN2
Practice 2 - Friday, June 21, 8:55 AM - ESPNU
Practice 3 - Saturday, June 22, 5:55 AM - ESPN2
Qualifying - Saturday, June 22, 8:55 AM - ESPN2
Pit Lane Live - Sunday, June 23, 7:30 AM - ESPN3
On The Grid - Sunday, June 23, 8:30 AM - ESPN
Race - Sunday, June 23, 9:05 AM - ESPN
Race (re-air) - Sunday, June 23, 7:00 PM - ESPNEWS
Race (re-air) - Sunday, June 23, 10:00 PM - ESPN2

Current Standings:
Drivers
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 162
2. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 133
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 100
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 88
5. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 72
6. Pierre Gasly, Red Bull, 36
7. Carlos Sainz, McLaren, 18
8. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, 16
9. Kevin Magnussen, Haas, 14
10. Sergio Perez, Racing Point, 13
Constructors
1. Mercedes, 295
2. Ferrari, 172
3. Red Bull, 124
4. McLaren, 30
5. Renault, 28
6. Racing Point, 19
7. Toro Rosso, 17
8. Haas, 16
9. Alfa Romeo Racing, 13
10. Williams, 0

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

 

[newbe46]

Natalie Pinkham from Sky looks rather stunning in the pre-qualifying footage.

 

[gofast182]

^ she looks rather stunning no matter what she's doing.

Gosh I wish someone would beat Mercedes.

Where in the [censored] did McLaren's pace come from all of a sudden?

Another tough weekend for Haas unless they can pull out a small miracle with their car in the race.

 

[Brad_C]

Originally Posted by gofast182
Where in the [censored] did McLaren's pace come from all of a sudden?


Doesn't really matter where it came from. It is good to see.

 

[Brad_C]

Well, McLaren acquitted themselves wonderfully. I thought the way Norris managed a failing car to still bring home a point was wonderful.

Pretty good race from 5th back.

 

[CharlieBauer]

We really need Vettel & Verstappen to step it up a bit.

I'd like to see a bit more of a buffer between Lewis & Valtteri in the standings.

But flawless again by Lewis. Pole, led every lap and finished first. Almost got fastest lap and the "grand slam".

If the race win rate of 75% continues, it could be the most successful season in F1 history.

 

[Brad_C]

Originally Posted by CharlieBauer
I'd like to see a bit more of a buffer between Lewis & Valtteri in the standings.


Whereas I'd like the opposite. A bit of competition, even from inside the team. Keep the pressure on.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted by CharlieBauer
We really need Vettel & Verstappen to step it up a bit.
I'd like to see a bit more of a buffer between Lewis & Valtteri in the standings.
But flawless again by Lewis. Pole, led every lap and finished first. Almost got fastest lap and the "grand slam".
If the race win rate of 75% continues, it could be the most successful season in F1 history.

I guess I am learning more about this sport...very interesting to me that Vettel made a special pit stop before the last lap for soft tires and then earned a point for the fastest overall lap in the race just afterwards. I guess the team must have calculated that he was very unlikely to lose his fifth place spot to Sainz with the stop and was also unlikely to catch Verstappen for 4th no matter what.
Fascinating little games being played during the race!

 

[weasley]

Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
I guess the team must have calculated that he was very unlikely to lose his fifth place spot to Sainz with the stop and was also unlikely to catch Verstappen for 4th no matter what.
Fascinating little games being played during the race!


Exactly that - it's new for this season (the extra point for fastest lap, but only if you finish in the top 10). There was always the risk that something could go wrong in the pitstop, but that is fairly rare these days. The additional risk is that there is a yellow flag or traffic when he is trying for a lap, which will ruin his time.

In fact the little game was even more calculated - Vettel had a large gap behind him and, as you say, little chance of catching Verstappen, so it is essentially a free way to get an extra point. However, he waited until the penultimate lap to come in and try - if he had gone in a lap earlier it would have given Verstappen a chance to come in the next lap and try for himself.

 

[gofast182]

We've talked about boring races before but, IMO, this one takes the cake. Yet another Merc. 1-2, P4-P6 weren't close enough for battles to happen, up to P7 was lapped by the leader, teams like Haas (especially) and Toro Rosso were nowhere, and we have another rubbish FIA penalty on RIC.

I was reading comments to a post-race post Haas made and there was a new F1 fan for 2019, American I presume, who said he doesn't see himself following anymore because of Merc.'s default domination and Haas falling back because of finicky tires.

F1 needs to fix itself and I hope that it realizes it needs to start taking some bold steps within this season. And synthetic 'fixes' like more DRS aren't the answer.

 

[weasley]

Originally Posted by gofast182
...and we have another rubbish FIA penalty on RIC.


The race was a bit staid, but the penalties for RIC were justified. He left the track twice; once he rejoined in a dangerous manner forcing NOR off (no different from VET vs HAM in Canada) and the overtake on RAI was done by leaving the track to get past him. Slam and dunk. I don't like the rules, but the drivers know them and if they flout them they know the consequences.

 

[gofast182]

I don't argue that it wasn't per the rules, I'm saying the rules aren't right.

 

[Brad_C]

Originally Posted by weasley
Originally Posted by gofast182
...and we have another rubbish FIA penalty on RIC.


The race was a bit staid, but the penalties for RIC were justified. He left the track twice; once he rejoined in a dangerous manner forcing NOR off (no different from VET vs HAM in Canada) and the overtake on RAI was done by leaving the track to get past him. Slam and dunk. I don't like the rules, but the drivers know them and if they flout them they know the consequences.



That one of the many reasons I love street circuits. The track limits are simple. If you exceed them you wind up in the wall. These manufactured circuits with practically infinite runoff with no consequences make for a more boring race.

 

[Garak]

That is the issue with these manufactured circuits, isn't it? Sure, it's technically impressive and has a lot of configurations. Whenever someone does something silly or imprudent, though, it's always up to a steward's [in]decision. Walls and gravel traps don't waffle around the issue. Realistically, I'm not saying we need walls as a death trap at every race, but these paved runoff areas are terrible.