FP1:
1 George Russell Mercedes 0:54.546
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 0.176s
3 Alex Albon Red Bull 0.265s
4 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 0.322s
5 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri 0.465s
6 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri 0.620s
7 Esteban Ocon Renault 0.727s
8 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 0.735s
9 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 0.833s
10 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 0.903s
11 Lance Stroll Racing Point 1.012s
12 Sergio Perez Racing Point 1.170s
13 Carlos Sainz McLaren 1.211s
14 Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo Racing 1.237s
15 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo Racing 1.312s
16 Lando Norris McLaren 1.532s
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1.584s
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams 2.218s
19 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas 2.531s
20 Jack Aitken Williams 2.641s
I think this raced proved a few things. A) How ****ing dominant Mercedes cars are and B) Hamilton is overrated. Don't get me wrong. He's a good driver but not as good as he comes out to be, because of the car. George was able to hop in a car for the first time and almost basically beat Bottas in a race weekend with very minimal experience. This shows that either Bottos sucks, which I don't think he does, rather he's an OK driver or the Merc is so good that any good driver can be in it and instantly be vying for the drivers championship. Let's look back at 2016. I think Nico is a good driver, but not a great driver. He was never anything spectacular imho. The fact he was able to challenge Hamilton and eventually beat him 1 year shows that if Hamilton was given a teammate like the current crop of good driver Max, Charles, Alonso, Vettel, Sainz it would be very very interesting who would be winning in that team. I think Hamilton has had it pretty easy the last few years with little competition internally and from other teams.
I think this raced proved a few things. A) How ****ing dominant Mercedes cars are and B) Hamilton is overrated. Don't get me wrong. He's a good driver but not as good as he comes out to be, because of the car. George was able to hop in a car for the first time and almost basically beat Bottas in a race weekend with very minimal experience. This shows that either Bottos sucks, which I don't think he does, rather he's an OK driver or the Merc is so good that any good driver can be in it and instantly be vying for the drivers championship. Let's look back at 2016. I think Nico is a good driver, but not a great driver. He was never anything spectacular imho. The fact he was able to challenge Hamilton and eventually beat him 1 year shows that if Hamilton was given a teammate like the current crop of good driver Max, Charles, Alonso, Vettel, Sainz it would be very very interesting who would be winning in that team. I think Hamilton has had it pretty easy the last few years with little competition internally and from other teams.
2. George Russel is a top driver and stuck in a backmarker car.
Anything else you want to conclude is pure conjecture. For all, we know Hamilton would have won that race going away. He might have been so far out in front of Bottas that the double stack never even happens. His consistency, speed, and car care is at the very top level.
Drawing conclusions about the Mercedes Race Car, and George Russell are totally fair, they were both on display last weekend.
Drawing conclusions about Hamilton based on those 2 things is pure conjecture, and probably a fool's errand.
It's possible that Hamilton would have protested that double stack tire swap as well. Russell pretty much had to do as he was told given his position, but Hamilton could have ignored them without consequence because he does not need to prove himself. Unless we see Hamilton and Russell on the same team, it's hard to draw too many conclusions about their relative skills. What IS clear is that Russell is a very talented driver and this race confirmed he is only being held up by an abysmal car.
I'm very anxious to see what Russell can do. I hope that he recognizes this as a HUGE opportunity. If he goes out and does really well, then great... but if he blows it then it might serve to confirm what some of us suspect already. If he can qualify in the top 5 then it will come down to his race-pace and his ability to deal with pressure not usually associated with where he usually spends a grand prix weekend. With it being a new circuit for everyone that may work to his advantage though...
If he doesn't score any points THIS WEEKEND, then ugh.
Also see Haas signed Schumacher. A dual rookie lineup... Gunther is going to have his hands full.
I'm very anxious to see what Russell can do. I hope that he recognizes this as a HUGE opportunity. If he goes out and does really well, then great... but if he blows it then it might serve to confirm what some of us suspect already. If he can qualify in the top 5 then it will come down to his race-pace and his ability to deal with pressure not usually associated with where he usually spends a grand prix weekend. With it being a new circuit for everyone that may work to his advantage though...
If he doesn't score any points THIS WEEKEND, then ugh.
Also see Haas signed Schumacher. A dual rookie lineup... Gunther is going to have his hands full.
The pressure on Russell is crazy. This one race could be the difference between becoming WDC some day and being out of F1 without scoring a single point. If he wins, he will be hailed as the next Hamilton. If he ends up in the top 5, he will be considered at least a worthy contender. If he fails to score points for any reason other than a mechanical failure, it will be very bad for his career.
2. George Russel is a top driver and stuck in a backmarker car.
Anything else you want to conclude is pure conjecture. For all, we know Hamilton would have won that race going away. He might have been so far out in front of Bottas that the double stack never even happens. His consistency, speed, and car care is at the very top level.
Drawing conclusions about the Mercedes Race Car, and George Russell are totally fair, they were both on display last weekend.
Drawing conclusions about Hamilton based on those 2 things is pure conjecture, and probably a fool's errand.
2. George Russel is a top driver and stuck in a backmarker car.
Anything else you want to conclude is pure conjecture. For all, we know Hamilton would have won that race going away. He might have been so far out in front of Bottas that the double stack never even happens. His consistency, speed, and car care is at the very top level.
Drawing conclusions about the Mercedes Race Car, and George Russell are totally fair, they were both on display last weekend.
Drawing conclusions about Hamilton based on those 2 things is pure conjecture, and probably a fool's errand.
You really think if lets say Dani, Carlos, or Checo was at Mercedes the last 6 years they wouldnt be a 4,5 or 6 WDC ? I think if any other driver was at Merc for the last 5-6 years they would be multiple WDC for sure.
@GreenandChrome@roman16v Hamilton being consistent imo is down to him being with that team for so many years its second nature to him now. he obviously has years of experience with the car and its evolution and the team working. They obviously mesh together well. I bet after half a season Russel would probably be there too. Lets not forget Hamiltons early years. Very much similar to Max. All over the board, making mistakes, etc. I think some of that comes down to experience and matureity. Russel is still young and he can most definitely become "consistent"
No mentions of the irony that it was George Russell's Williams car that caused the safety car which led to the whole debacle?
Also, MB have said it was a technical failure of the radio that caused missed messages about the double stack and created all the confusion. Not human error.
The fan swell regarding George Russell almost made it to where he HAD to come back immediately to save face and/or somehow protect the value of his seat. One more weekend of Russell in the car and there'd be pitchforks and torches for change.
Hamilton has to serve the 10sec penalty within 2 laps after the restart, he cant cross the finish line more than 2 times. A drive trough the pits costs about 18 seconds+ 10, which will cost him around 30 seconds.
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