2020 Styrian Grand Prix - Spielberg, 10-12 July

[Shrieker]

It’s times like that which prove just which tier he’s in.

nO It'S tHe CaR

Don't you mean they're sabotaging bottas' car to make ham champion again

[Silent Storm]

Well, if not Verstappen (I acknowledge your point) then at least Russell. So the middle ground.

Russell is good when it comes to having mental stability and maturity. Performance is unknown vs Kubica and now rookie Latifi. Putting pressure on him this early with basically no experience will end up like Max vs Gasly. Also racing against experience drivers ruins careers. Alonso vs Vandoorne and Raikkonen vs Gio for example.

Im not so sure. Putting all the pieces together here so bear with me.
In F2 he dominated both Albon and Norris. He has then consistently out-qualified his teammates every damn weekend for over a year now with one if them being his Rookie year. He then (please don’t laugh) seemed to just pick up Sim racing within weeks of never trying it before and started surprising and matching their best times. Those points show that he’s good, versatile and rather quick on the uptake.

It seems he can turn his hand to most things and can get the best of any equipment he’s given.

I get what you are saying, but he needs to drive alongside drivers like Daniel, Kvyat, Perez and Mag. Not Kubica who is completely washed out and Latifi is still finding a proper set up. Vandoorne dominated F2 like no one before and we saw what happened to him. he performed well but Alonso's speed comes from his vast experience and he has many tricks up his sleeve, Van did good but now he is out of the sport. IMO Russell needs to race in a proper midfield team first before moving to a top team. He is a good driver and better than Kvyat, Gio and Stroll but if he goes against Lewis then his days are numbered.

[siskue2005]

About the race;

Possible race strategies:
soft - medium
soft - hard
medium - soft
medium - hard
hard - softs
hard - mediums

If Hamilton starts on medium and Verstappen on softs, he may lose first position. Assuming then that Verstappen pits earlier (because his softs will wear out more quickly), he'll then be on a quicker tire relative to Hamilton who then would be leading on his more durable tires. Once Hamilton comes in, he'll be behind Verstappen and will have to pass on track. I see that as a huge disadvantage.

If Hamilton starts on softs and retains the lead, relative to Verstappen on mediums, then yes, he'll have to pit earlier, but he then has two options; Either he'll go to hards or go risky by going mediums. Either way, he'll pit and he'll then be faster than Verstappen, so that when Verstappen pits, he'll be back behind and then he will have to pass on track. Given I see the Mercedes as the faster car, I think this would be very unlikely.

Starting on softs of course has some disadvantages, that being that many behind him will be on mediums and there is a risk he'll get into traffic if he pits early. However, he should be in the fastest cars and be able to drive out an advantage. Bottas further behind might be able to also help, as he might be on the medium or even hard tires.

I don't know, I definitely see it as a no brainer to put Hamilton on softs no matter what and I think RedBull will put Verstappen on mediums. They could put Verstappen on softs to try to get into P1 at T1, but I think the Mercedes should be quick enough to hold off the RedBull, even when starting on the outside.

EDIT: Not to mention, if there is a safety car, it will always benefit the driver in the lead.

Just my 2 cents.

It is going to be Soft tyres for the top drivers, otherwise they are going to be too slow in the first half and in danger of getting overtaken or getting undercut

[sAx]

You are such children.

Hamilton did a very nice trick, well done to him, I don't know if he lucked into it, or simply planned it or he's just intuitive like that. Still, no one else did what he did so he deserves pole.

If you watch his onboard, he timed track position so the car in front was ahead just enough to clear the water off the road, but not so close that he had to drive in the spray. Because of this he was able to dominate in the final sector.

Is that what you really saw through the murk? Could the 'trick' just simply be that these drivers are (he is) phenominally good at driving under these conditions, as proven many times in the past?

[Moore77]

You are such children.

Hamilton did a very nice trick, well done to him, I don't know if he lucked into it, or simply planned it or he's just intuitive like that. Still, no one else did what he did so he deserves pole.

If you watch his onboard, he timed track position so the car in front was ahead just enough to clear the water off the road, but not so close that he had to drive in the spray. Because of this he was able to dominate in the final sector.

It was true only for the first lap coming out of pits. Later, some drivers were backing off, some were just slow, others pit and came out. All sorts of things were happening. Plus, Hamilton wasn't going for full on for his first flier. It was just the intuition with which he was driving as the visibility was so poor.

[JordanMugen]

IMO Russell needs to race in a proper midfield team first before moving to a top team. -- he goes against Lewis then his days are numbered.

Failing to note the irony of this statement? Hamilton did just fine in a top team, as did Leclerc and Russell will too IMO.

Russell is clearly a very good driver, that is obvious; making Russell waste time in a midfield team is pointless... imagine if Ferrari had retained Raikkonen again and Leclerc was stuck at Alfa Romeo, that would have been bad for the sport and bad for the fans.

racing against experience drivers ruins careers. Alonso vs Vandoorne and Raikkonen vs Gio for example.

It was no problem for Hamilton alongside Alonso. Russell appears to be in a similar talent class to Hamilton. Unless Mercedes goes ahead with the pairing, we will never find out for sure though, so going ahead with promoting Russell is the best way to evaluate Russell's talent. It is very unlikely Russell's performance will be inferior to Bottas.

Teams don’t want to pay silly money for things like Vettel/LeClerc in Brazil, Verstappen/Ricciardo in Baku or going back far further a rather famous and embarrassing episode that still makes McLaren look silly all these years later.

Except Russell is cheap not expensive. Prost and Lauda got on very well when teamed at McLaren.

[Mogster]

F2 going back out.

[Phil]

Thanks for the headsup regarding F2. Just turning it on again.

EDIT: Where are you watching it? It's not on ORF...

[Moore77]

What a car that McLaren is and what a stellar job those two have been doing. Confidence inspiring for Sainz.
Riccardo is always so poor in Wet and Ocon is generally faster in the same conditions. Hope Ocon continues the good run.
Such useless idiots at Racing Point. Less said the better it is. Put some good drivers and that car can do wonders.
Kvyat doesn't deserve to be on the grid.

DRIVER OF THE DAY - GEORGE RUSSELL, after Hamilton.

[siskue2005]

What a car that McLaren is and what a stellar job those two have been doing. Confidence inspiring for Sainz.
Riccardo is always so poor in Wet and Ocon is generally faster in the same conditions. Hope Ocon continues the good run.
Such uselessness idiots at Racing Point. Less said the better it is. Put some good drivers and that car can do wonders.
Kvyat doesn't deserve to be on the grid.

They are going to get Merc engine in 2021 or 2022? i forgot
Once they get it, it will be challenging for win.

And another stand out performance was from Ocon, beating Riccardo and constantly in the top 5 was fun to watch

[MtthsMlw]

Thanks for the headsup regarding F2. Just turning it on again.

EDIT: Where are you watching it? It's not on ORF...

Here

[JRindt]

You are such children.

Hamilton did a very nice trick, well done to him, I don't know if he lucked into it, or simply planned it or he's just intuitive like that. Still, no one else did what he did so he deserves pole.

If you watch his onboard, he timed track position so the car in front was ahead just enough to clear the water off the road, but not so close that he had to drive in the spray. Because of this he was able to dominate in the final sector.

I think everyone was trying to do that. Norris in the post quali interview said he got too close to the car in front on the final lap, and he couldn’t see the tyre treads of the car ahead.

[Macklaren]

What a car that McLaren is and what a stellar job those two have been doing. Confidence inspiring for Sainz.
Riccardo is always so poor in Wet and Ocon is generally faster in the same conditions. Hope Ocon continues the good run.
Such uselessness idiots at Racing Point. Less said the better it is. Put some good drivers and that car can do wonders.
Kvyat doesn't deserve to be on the grid.

They are going to get Merc engine in 2021 or 2022? i forgot
Once they get it, it will be challenging for win.

And another stand out performance was from Ocon, beating Riccardo and constantly in the top 5 was fun to watch

2021.

[Jolle]

What a car that McLaren is and what a stellar job those two have been doing. Confidence inspiring for Sainz.
Riccardo is always so poor in Wet and Ocon is generally faster in the same conditions. Hope Ocon continues the good run.
Such uselessness idiots at Racing Point. Less said the better it is. Put some good drivers and that car can do wonders.
Kvyat doesn't deserve to be on the grid.

They are going to get Merc engine in 2021 or 2022? i forgot
Once they get it, it will be challenging for win.

And another stand out performance was from Ocon, beating Riccardo and constantly in the top 5 was fun to watch

2021, so. they will have a difficult year next year (again) trying to bolt a PU that is quite different to a chassis designed for a Renault. In history, McLaren isn't the best at engine swaps...

[siskue2005]

What a car that McLaren is and what a stellar job those two have been doing. Confidence inspiring for Sainz.
Riccardo is always so poor in Wet and Ocon is generally faster in the same conditions. Hope Ocon continues the good run.
Such uselessness idiots at Racing Point. Less said the better it is. Put some good drivers and that car can do wonders.
Kvyat doesn't deserve to be on the grid.

They are going to get Merc engine in 2021 or 2022? i forgot
Once they get it, it will be challenging for win.

And another stand out performance was from Ocon, beating Riccardo and constantly in the top 5 was fun to watch

2021.

Then great news for Riccardo and Norris
Should be fun next year