Formula 1

[patch1875]

Botta’s is just Lewis wingman he was hung out to dry in qualifying providing a tow, it’s a one car team this year with Max much more of a championship threat.

[RyeSloan]

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Botta’s is just Lewis wingman he was hung out to dry in qualifying providing a tow, it’s a one car team this year with Max much more of a championship threat.

It’s been a one man team in all but name for the whole time Bottas has been there.

As for the qualifying this time…well they take it turn about so it was just bad luck for Bottas it was on a track that the tow means so much.

But that’s a recurring theme..Bottas and his ‘bad luck’. The difference this season though is that Bottas is being posted missing far too often. Merc have built their success by normally having two cars in the mix…this helps box in Red Bull on strategy with their single Max car.

But if Perez is going to get up with Max to support him then Merc can’t afford for Bottas to be posted missing so often as he has recently.

That might change as the tracks come back to the Merc strengths but Bottas must be thinking his coat is on a shoogly peg if he doesn’t step up in the next 2 - 3 races.

[Northernhibee]

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It’s been a one man team in all but name for the whole time Bottas has been there.

As for the qualifying this time…well they take it turn about so it was just bad luck for Bottas it was on a track that the tow means so much.

But that’s a recurring theme..Bottas and his ‘bad luck’. The difference this season though is that Bottas is being posted missing far too often. Merc have built their success by normally having two cars in the mix…this helps box in Red Bull on strategy with their single Max car.

But if Perez is going to get up with Max to support him then Merc can’t afford for Bottas to be posted missing so often as he has recently.

That might change as the tracks come back to the Merc strengths but Bottas must be thinking his coat is on a shoogly peg if he doesn’t step up in the next 2 - 3 races.

I can’t imagine that Lewis will be happy about Bottas being slower than even the Alfa Romeos at a race when it looked like he’d need a favour to take points off Verstappen.

Max made a barbed comment last year about it not being any use if his team mate finished half a minute behind him.

[CloudSquall]

I'm disappointed about Bottas, I always thought of him as being fairly quick with Williams when they had that 1 or 2 year period of being half decent, but since he has been at Mercedes he's been sub standard at best.

I think in previous seasons he did what they needed, gained enough points to get 3rd in the constructors and get Mercedes over the line to win the double.


Now though that they have real competition from Verstappen and Red Bull that have two good drivers they need more from Bottas and I just can't see how he can provide that.

[RyeSloan]

Max V Lewis again tomorrow.

Paul Ricard has produced zero entertainment previously but maybe might be worth a watch this time around with the Red Bulls n Mercs so closely matched.

[patch1875]

Very good race Red Bulls are looking like contenders.

[Jack]

Great racing between the two top teams, I fair enjoyed that.



Rules get tightened up again (tyres) Ferrari not in the points for the first time this season. Coincidence?

[Northernhibee]

Think Mercedes got that right. If they went toe for toe in terms of strategy then they wouldn’t have won, and it nearly paid off. A shower of rain or a safety car would have done it for them too.

[RyeSloan]

Another day, another ‘unlucky’ one from Bottas.

Not sure why he thinks having that kind of spin in the pit Lane is not deserving of a penalty…it was dangerous to the max and lucky no one was hurt.

Max looking imperious again and Merc just not able to get on terms.

Superb again from the tow British young guns. Russell somehow getting that Williams 8 thousands away from Q3 and Norris will be needing a new seat fitting considering how much he has his team mate in his back pocket.

[Northernhibee]

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Another day, another ‘unlucky’ one from Bottas.

Not sure why he thinks having that kind of spin in the pit Lane is not deserving of a penalty…it was dangerous to the max and lucky no one was hurt.

Max looking imperious again and Merc just not able to get on terms.

Superb again from the tow British young guns. Russell somehow getting that Williams 8 thousands away from Q3 and Norris will be needing a new seat fitting considering how much he has his team mate in his back pocket.

I think we could be in for an unexpected winner today. A tough track to get out of DRS range due to how short a lap it is and two or three good passing opportunities.

[CloudSquall]

Another win for Verstappen, will be interesting to see how Hamilton mentally handles the increasing gap in the standings.

[Northernhibee]

That was desperately dull.

[RyeSloan]

Well quali was more exciting than last weeks race.

Lando and Russell doing unbelievably well again.

And no Merc in the top 3…when was the last time that happened?

[CloudSquall]

Verstappen with a 32 point gap on Hamilton now, he had no answers today.

[RyeSloan]

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Verstappen with a 32 point gap on Hamilton now, he had no answers today.

Merc have an upgrade coming for Silverstone..they better hope it’s a good one!

Great race from Lando today.

[SteveHFC]

Lando will be a world champion in the next 5 years.

[Northernhibee]

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Lando will be a world champion in the next 5 years.

I’m not sure of that. Mercedes have Lewis with Russell waiting in the wings, Ferrari have Leclerc and a good youth set up, Red Bull have Max and I don’t see much changing line up wise in a #1 driver position.

McLaren will need to get back to the very front for that to happen. Fingers crossed though, as I would love to see them win titles again.

[Bangkok Hibby]

I see lots of talk recently about Mercedes unable to match Red Bull for the moment. Seems to back up my earlier assertion that its the car that makes champions and not necessarily the driver. Or has Verstappen suddenly become a better driver than Hamilton? You can't have it both ways.

[RyeSloan]

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I see lots of talk recently about Mercedes unable to match Red Bull for the moment. Seems to back up my earlier assertion that its the car that makes champions and not necessarily the driver. Or has Verstappen suddenly become a better driver than Hamilton? You can't have it both ways.

Max is at a level with Lewis currently, don’t think many will argue with that.

Whether he can stay a decade or more at the top obviously remains to be seen. And you can’t take away the fact that Lewis has seven world championships…and not all of them in the fastest car. One obvious example being the Ferrari in 2018.

But you can’t just take one great driver and compare him to another and say it’s just the machine. You just need to look at their team mates performances in the same equipment to see that it’s not just the driver OR the machine, it’s a combination of both. That’s always the way in motorsport and especially in Formula 1.

So I think you are making an argument that doesn’t need to be made. Everyone knows that to be a world champion in F1 you need a damn fine car, it can’t be done otherwise.

That machine still needs to be expertly piloted though over many many races and Lewis has proven time and again that he’s right up there in being the best at doing exactly that.

[lord bunberry]

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I see lots of talk recently about Mercedes unable to match Red Bull for the moment. Seems to back up my earlier assertion that its the car that makes champions and not necessarily the driver. Or has Verstappen suddenly become a better driver than Hamilton? You can't have it both ways.

You have to be a good driver in a good car to become a champion. Albon was in the same car as verstappen last season and was miles behind him, Bottas has had the same car as Hamilton for years and hasn’t laid a glove on him. It’s pretty simple to understand that you need to have a good car and be a good driver. Red Bull seem to have the best car this season but they wouldn’t win the title if they had Mazepin and Latifi driving for them.

[patch1875]

Russell to be confirmed for the Merc 2nd seat at Silverstone.

[lord bunberry]

It’s not hard to see why Hamilton isn’t over the moon about having Russell in the same team next season. If Bangkok hibby reads this, how can you explain the difference between Russel and Latifi if it’s all down to the car?

[Bangkok Hibby]

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It’s not hard to see why Hamilton isn’t over the moon about having Russell in the same team next season. If Bangkok hibby reads this, how can you explain the difference between Russel and Latifi if it’s all down to the car?

Hi, I'm actually not a big F1 fan so unsure what you mean. I take it Russell has been given a Mercedes job over Latifi? Good for him.
Can I just say I have never once said some drivers are not better than others and its all down to the car, don't read something I haven't said. What I have said is the car makes champions. Now I understand that Hamilton is better than Bottas but if they were both driving for Arrows for example Hamilton would still be the better driver but never world champion.
Similarly "decent" jockeys become champions when given a top stable jockey job.

[RyeSloan]

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It’s not hard to see why Hamilton isn’t over the moon about having Russell in the same team next season. If Bangkok hibby reads this, how can you explain the difference between Russel and Latifi if it’s all down to the car?

Phenomenal from Russell yet again!

Nice move from Williams to give him a solo lap in Q3…Russell, the crowd and the sponsors loved that!

[Stairway 2 7]

145,000 expected on Sunday unreal numbers

[RyeSloan]

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Hi, I'm actually not a big F1 fan so unsure what you mean. I take it Russell has been given a Mercedes job over Latifi? Good for him.
Can I just say I have never once said some drivers are not better than others and its all down to the car, don't read something I haven't said. What I have said is the car makes champions. Now I understand that Hamilton is better than Bottas but if they were both driving for Arrows for example Hamilton would still be the better driver but never world champion.
Similarly "decent" jockeys become champions when given a top stable jockey job.

You make a bit of an obvious point as of course in motorsport you need a very good car to be a champion. That really goes without saying.

As you say you can’t be a champion jockey if you are riding donkeys just as much as you can’t win the Americas Cup sailing a dinghy. Any sport that involves man and machine needs the machine to be very good indeed if you are to be a world champion at it.

The difference with Hamilton though is that he has done it so consistently across such a long time and beaten almost every team mate that’s taken him on. Also as previously suggested he’s beaten better cars along the way. Obviously the Merc has been the best car on a number of occasions but on the flip side you don’t get the best car year after year if you are not one of the best drivers!

Even when he lost out to Rosberg you can put that down to mechanical failures. He was better than Rosberg and easily winning more races in the same car…the fact Rosberg didn’t have the cahoonies to try again shows you all you need to know on that front.

And again today Hamilton showed just how good he is. Delivering in front of a massive crowd to get his first non pole pole of his career

That said it will be very interesting to see what Russell can do in the same machine as Lewis. Absolute quality that lad for sure!

[lord bunberry]

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Hi, I'm actually not a big F1 fan so unsure what you mean. I take it Russell has been given a Mercedes job over Latifi? Good for him.
Can I just say I have never once said some drivers are not better than others and its all down to the car, don't read something I haven't said. What I have said is the car makes champions. Now I understand that Hamilton is better than Bottas but if they were both driving for Arrows for example Hamilton would still be the better driver but never world champion.
Similarly "decent" jockeys become champions when given a top stable jockey job.

I’m not really sure what point you’re trying to make then. It’s blatantly obvious that the driver with the best car has a better chance to be world champion than a driver with a worse car. The best drivers end up in the best cars, the best jockeys end up on the best horses. Russel hasn’t been given the Mercedes drive yet, but he qualified in the top 10 while his team mate in the same car was miles behind, that’s because Russell is a better driver.

[lord bunberry]

What do we think will happen in the sprint race? Hamilton suggested it might be a bit of a procession with drivers not wanting to risk anything for the main race on Sunday. I can’t see that happening, these guys are hard wired to race and if an opportunity presents itself they’ll go for it.

[RyeSloan]

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What do we think will happen in the sprint race? Hamilton suggested it might be a bit of a procession with drivers not wanting to risk anything for the main race on Sunday. I can’t see that happening, these guys are hard wired to race and if an opportunity presents itself they’ll go for it.

Was wondering that myself but on the flip side of you wipe out in the sprint race then you massively impact your GP.

I’m not sure anyone quite knows how this will work but I’m minded to think that it’s a mistake linking the sprint race to the GP start positions for these very reasons.

If there is to be a sprint race (not sure I’m 100% on the concept) then it should be the opposite and jeopardy free in the sense that risks and adventure are encouraged rather than one mistake compromising your ability to influence the main event.

[Bangkok Hibby]

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I’m not really sure what point you’re trying to make then. It’s blatantly obvious that the driver with the best car has a better chance to be world champion than a driver with a worse car. The best drivers end up in the best cars, the best jockeys end up on the best horses. Russel hasn’t been given the Mercedes drive yet, but he qualified in the top 10 while his team mate in the same car was miles behind, that’s because Russell is a better driver.

My point was made back on page 6. "The car makes the champion" Nice to see you're finally agreeing with me. A quick check shows in the 63 years since the constructors championship started the champion driver has raced for the winners 54 times