2018 F1 challenge r18 & r19 USA & Mexico thread

Yep, another mistake.  I saw it last night and was hoping he didn’t get a penalty because I want Hamilton to take the championship in a straight race (USA or Mexico).  He does slow down at first, but then accelerates back up to 200kph as he passes the second red flag, so I guess he had to get the penalty but it didn’t look particularly dangerous to me.

I know there was too much rain in both practice sessions for it to be truly representative, but it looked like everyone was trying and Hamilton has been in a league of his own.  1.3 seconds ahead of Bottas in P1, 2.0 seconds to Vettel and in P2, 1 seconds ahead of Gasley 5 seconds to Vettel with both Hamilton and Vettel running at the same time on intermediates.

+1, he seems to be in a different league to everyone else at the moment

Must be nice to have that choice at 30 ish years old!

Another error by Vettel.  Great race, really enjoyed, briloiant drive by Verstappen and delighted to see Kimi win....long overdue.

On to Mexico.

It was a thoroughly entertaining Grand Prix. A lack of dry running in practice meant the teams didn’t have their usual race simulation data to gauge tyre behaviour. It wasn’t clear who was going to win until the closing laps, which was a nice change.

I don’t like the fiddly part of the final sector, but it definitely creates battles when someone goes defensive, they enter at such an acute angle a corner like turn 15, struggle to pick up the gas and that allows the following car to get alongside, as with Verstappen v Hamilton.

The opening lap looked like a BTCC race; contact in the esses with multiple victims, Grosjean punted Leclerc in turn 12. Grosjean’s attempted pass was never going to happen, the entry to turn 12 looks inviting, but it tightens suddenly and unless you’re significantly up the inside, it’s always going to be a lunge – the driver ahead has to turn-in somewhere.

Mercedes were being conservative with Hamilton, taking the advantage of a pitstop under the VSC with a less-costly time delta compared to making a pitstop under green-flag conditions. If they hadn’t of done that, they might have exposed themselves to others pitting under the VSC. The issue is, nobody else copied his move. That meant a lot of cars to pass, and 47 laps to do on a set of Soft compound tyres on a hot day. All those things combined, meant he would have been vulnerable to Bottas and Vettel towards the end. I think Hamilton escaped relatively unscathed, making an additional pitstop with a total loss of twenty seconds but only losing one position.

Vettel’s latest botched overtake was puzzling. He actually managed to overtake Ricciardo on the back straight, but went defensive into the acute turn 12. He overshot the corner, and got a slow exit. That allowed Ricciardo to get alongside into turn 13, and it required Vettel to give Ricciardo a slight shove, job done. I think that would have been acceptable. Almost anywhere in motorsport, the car on the outside of a corner comes off worst in wheel-to-wheel contact – Vettel is rewriting that…

Hamilton might not have made any particularly impressive overtakes in Austin, but his careful approach with Raikkonen and Verstappen kept him on the road and still out-score Vettel. He could have squeezed Verstappen more in turn 17, it was evident that the latter’s tyres were wasted, and couldn’t respond. But, the risk of the Dutchman clattering into the side of Hamilton’s Merc must have been present in his mind, it was better to bail. Contrast that to Vettel on Verstappen in Spoon. Unless you’re fully alongside, or someone lets you through, the overtake isn’t happening – not in an F1 car anyway. Is Verstappen in the mood for waving people through? You got to know who you’re racing.

Interesting situation at Toro Rosso. They genuinely can’t seem to find a suitable driver from their junior stable to put alongside Kyvat. Alexander Albon could be the leading candidate, only after Helmet Marko not being that impressed with Albon a few months ago. I think the lack of Red Bull’s own candidates has prompted a rethink. For me, Albon is nothing that special, he’s a good F2 driver who would just look ordinary in F1. It’s so competitive now, standing out is harder than it’s ever been. But, what saves Albon are the super license rules, a lot of these kids are just too young. Hartley is a great driver; I like his approach, Brendon brilliantly drove the old LMP1 Porsche in WEC. F1 is a cut-throat game, and constantly being out-qualified and out-raced by your teammate isn’t a great basis for being retained, for whatever reason. It reminds me of Vandoorne; both great, technical racing drivers who can contribute so well elsewhere, but F1 is about performing in every single session, from Friday to Sunday. Ordinarily, I would ditch Hartley for the latest hotshot, but just isn’t the right candidate available. The only two young guns available are owned by Merc and McLaren respectively. Albon isn’t that great for me, I don’t think he is Marko’s favourite choice.

Don't know Albon but BH has just not had the rub of the green. IMHO he is at least competitive for the most part.

I hope he gets at least another season with preferable, a better engine.