The 2017 Formula 1 Thread

Well Vettel threw away any chance at the WDC when he squeezed Verstappen into Raikonnen. FIA called it a racing incident, and I guess they already paid the price with the double DNF for Ferrari. It seems that all the bad luck that Hamilton had last year has translated into some extremely good luck this year, since fortuitous events allowed him to take a victory at a track that his car was not remotely competitive with Red Bull and Ferrari.

Renault are quietly making their way up the grid, and they had some real pace in the race last weekend. Too bad a technical problem cost Hulkenberg a good finish. They could have come away with some big points that would have put them into 4th for the constructors championship (that's where the money is made). I think they will be a very competitive team next year.

I felt gutted for Alonso after getting wrecked following such an amazing start at a track that suited McLaren very well. I can understand why the divorce from Honda happened, since three years into it and they seem to be going backwards. Now both sides are playing the blame game. While the Renault engine may be a bit more powerful than Honda, you can't say much for their reliability this year. Hopefully they will turn it around next year and surprise everybody.
 
If Vettel had only taken out himself and Kimi, that would have been a racing incident. But he took out Kimi, Verstappen, Alonso and himself. I don't know what the FIA were thinking. Verstappen's got to be livid.
 
Gawd, what a complete disaster that was.

I can't really fault Vettel or anyone else for that turn one clusterfuck. There's no way Vettel could have seen Kimi flying up on Verstappen as if he had a Rocket booster on his car. Max would have had room to accommodate Vettel's dive toward the inside line but for Raikkonen shooting up beside him. I think the Stewards got it right in calling it a "racing incident".

That whole race was never ending series of massive disappointments up and down the grid. All the cars that supposedly had a clear advantage on that track either had a DNF or finished mid field or worse behind all the cars that shouldn't have had a chance in Hell. The fact that Hamilton somehow pulled that far ahead of the pack is mysterious at best.

Singapore is always a shit race. It's unnecessarily tight and narrow. These cars are just way too fast for that place. 17 safety cars in 10 years... That says a lot about why it should be dropped on the schedule, but they just signed a new 4 year contract to host a GP so we have to endure at least 4 more years of that fiasco.
 
Well, that was an interesting race! Great drive by Verstappen, and an even better one from Vettel. Poor Kimi, he probably would have been on the podium if his car didn't break.

The crash between Vettel and Stroll on the cooldown lap was bizarre. The FIA ruled no further action. Vettel could be looking at some penalties for taking his steering wheel with him after the crash and hitching a ride with Wehrlein instead of getting in the medical car.
 
That was a wild race for sure, and Vettel broke a 13 year old race lap record in his pursuit of a podium finish. To come from last all the way to 4th was most impressive. Driver of the day IMO. Poor Kimi, reliability really cost Ferrari some big points this week.

Congrats to Verstappen on a well earned Victory. Red Bull have really come to life over the last couple of races.

Mercedes seem to still suffer a lot in high heat. I wonder if the temperatures keep them from turning their engines all the way up? Hamilton was complaining about "derating" during the race which leads me to believe he didn't have full power, thus he was unable to hold off Verstappen.

Bring on Japan!
 
Looks like Lewis is 2017 World Champion-elect. Don't see Vettel catching him. It's a good thing Red Bull is changing engines next year right as Verstappen finally has the car sorted out. Nothing like starting over.
 
Yeah, Vettel has no chance now. Verstappen did a great job of keeping up with Hamilton, but the Renault just doesn't have the power on the straights.

Red Bull isn't changing engines until after 2018. Hopefully Renault makes some improvements and is competitive with Merc.
 
Yeah the WDC and WCC are effective over now. I don't see Mercedes have a bunch of DNF's down the final stretch. Even if they have on or two bad races, Vettel would still be behind at the end.

Red Bull are starting to look like they did from 2010-2013. They have the best aero package hands down. They have one more year with Renault, and if Renault can get their act together for next year it should be a very interesting championship next year. If the momentum continues for Ferrari and Red Bull, and if the McLaren chassis is as good as everyone says, there could be 5 teams fighting for wins and podiums next year. I also think the Renault works team may be in the mix next year. With so many teams in hunt for wins and podiums, both the WDC and WCC could come down to the wire next year.
 
Not a bad race, but the Verstappen penalty was bullshit. Strictly by the rules, it was correct, but the stewards let other drivers exceed the track limits and gain an advantage without penalty. Pulling a crowd favorite out of the green room after an epic pass is not good for the sport.
 
Once again the USGP was a thriller. It is a real testament to the design of that track. Lots of overtaking in places that are not possible on other tracks.
 
Flatspotter said:
Not a bad race, but the Verstappen penalty was bullshit. Strictly by the rules, it was correct, but the stewards let other drivers exceed the track limits and gain an advantage without penalty. Pulling a crowd favorite out of the green room after an epic pass is not good for the sport.
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I agree. If they are going to enforce penalties, then they need to be more consistent about it.
 
I was flipping back and forth on the race. It was actually pretty interesting with overtaking actually happening among those in the upper places and not just the backmarkers. Too bad most races aren't like that. I didn't see the penalty call so I though Verstappen had taken 3rd. Too bad it was a great pass and Vettel's was a ballsy one. Too bad the WDC is effectively over though
 
Besides the opening lap, that race was a bit of a snoozer. Congrats to Hamilton for clinching WDC, but that was one of his worst races. My favorite part of the race was the battle between Hamilton and Alonso near the end. Hopefully we'll see more of that next year as it looks like Renault is starting to find performance, but they really need to sort out the reliability.
 
TomcatMF said:
Besides the opening lap, that race was a bit of a snoozer. Congrats to Hamilton for clinching WDC, but that was one of his worst races. My favorite part of the race was the battle between Hamilton and Alonso near the end. Hopefully we'll see more of that next year as it looks like Renault is starting to find performance, but they really need to sort out the reliability.
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That race was rendered irrelevant on lap 1 at turn 2...
 
It was a little surprising how much more trouble Hamilton had getting through the field than Vettel did.

The announcers (I'm really going to miss Hobbs and Matchett next year) blamed Hamilton for being too aggressive at the start, but I don't think he did anything wrong. Vettel was just a little too optimistic and hit both Verstappen and Hamilton. A real shame, because those three guys could have put on a great show.

F1 really needs to get their engine problem sorted. They're robbing the fans of some epic battles between Verstappen, Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo, and Alonso.
 
I haven't watched a race since Spa, and even that race I only made it halfway at most before falling asleep. Too much going on in OGGville and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Hamilton was going to cruise to another WDC. I had planned on watching the races on the DVR at some point, and made a real effort to shield myself from any spoilers, but the CNN headline crowning Hamilton as WDC pretty much made it a moot point.

It was nice to hear Bob Varsha calling a race again several weeks back. NBC really should have thrown a ton of cash his way when they picked up F1 coverage from FoxSports. I really like the crew NBCSN has, but Varsha brought a certain intelligence and academia to the broadcast that perfectly balanced the driver/Motorhead/drunken Scots bastard incoherence. :)

Next year had better be a lot more exciting and competitive. I'm burned out on these Monopoly seasons.


EDIT!!!!!

I just read the above post about Hobbs and Matchett. WTF!?!?!?!?

What did I miss?
 
OGG said:
I haven't watched a race since Spa, and even that race I only made it halfway at most before falling asleep. Too much going on in OGGville and it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Hamilton was going to cruise to another WDC. I had planned on watching the races on the DVR at some point, and made a real effort to shield myself from any spoilers, but the CNN headline crowning Hamilton as WDC pretty much made it a moot point.

It was nice to hear Bob Varsha calling a race again several weeks back. NBC really should have thrown a ton of cash his way when they picked up F1 coverage from FoxSports. I really like the crew NBCSN has, but Varsha brought a certain intelligence and academia to the broadcast that perfectly balanced the driver/Motorhead/drunken Scots bastard incoherence. :)

Next year had better be a lot more exciting and competitive. I'm burned out on these Monopoly seasons.


EDIT!!!!!

I just read the above post about Hobbs and Matchett. WTF!?!?!?!?

What did I miss?
Click to expand...
ESPN is getting F1 next year.
 
Flatspotter said:
It was a little surprising how much more trouble Hamilton had getting through the field than Vettel did.

The announcers (I'm really going to miss Hobbs and Matchett next year) blamed Hamilton for being too aggressive at the start, but I don't think he did anything wrong. Vettel was just a little too optimistic and hit both Verstappen and Hamilton. A real shame, because those three guys could have put on a great show.

F1 really needs to get their engine problem sorted. They're robbing the fans of some epic battles between Verstappen, Hamilton, Vettel, Ricciardo, and Alonso.
Click to expand...

Are Hobbs and Matchett leaving? They are the best part of the broadcast. I'm watching race from stations in Germany, Switzerland, and England, so the broadcasters are very different. The UK coverage is a little cheesy, but there are almost no commercials and they have a solid list of drivers as announcers/presenters, so there is some talent describing racing issues.
 
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