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Formula 1 2018: General Discussion Thread

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12467…146

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    #92
    robyntmorton
    Registered Users Posts: 4,263 ✭✭✭robyntmorton


    Yeah, that does add to it. I'm not sure to what extent, but it is another layer to the puzzle.


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    #93
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    OSI wrote: »
    FYP

    Hardly? :confused:


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    #94
    Frank Bullitt
    Registered Users Posts: 11,301 ✭✭✭✭Frank Bullitt


    Reading it on Autosport as well, money talks.

    Such a shame.


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    #95
    iomusicdublin
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 154 ✭✭iomusicdublin


    g1983d wrote: »
    In recent years have Williams made any decisions without overthinking it? It's has even cost them races, there have been times where they play it safe to protect 2nd or 3rd when they could've gone for a win.
    I like Williams but the procrastination annoys me

    Williams has massively underachieved since 2013. In 2014 and 2015 they should have challenged everywhere with stronger drivers and better management. I think this is a reason Paddy Lowe was hired.

    I understand having a billionaire driver is handy but Stroll should not be in the car next year, he was destroyed by Massa. Kubica had his time and there are too many questions about him. Hire Kfyat at a bargain price.

    robyntmorton wrote: »
    A 3 of each engine component limit has been confirmed for 2018 before grid penalty, or, as they say in Japanese "Saturday".

    Quite simply making a bad problem worse. I'm all for limits, or it'll be an engine a race job, but if 4 was too far, what good will 3 do?

    It is a stupid rule. I want to see cars pushed to the max every lap for every race, all through the year. Who cares about 50 laps of tyre / fuel saving.


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    #96
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    All over for Kubica

    https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/891014/Robert-Kubica-2018-seat-Williams-Sergey-Sirotkin/amp


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    #97
    Mike Litoris
    Registered Users Posts: 6,038 ✭✭✭Mike Litoris


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    All over for Kubica

    https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/891014/Robert-Kubica-2018-seat-Williams-Sergey-Sirotkin/amp


    Fcuk sake. :( I guess that £18m is too much to turn down for Williams.


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    #98
    muckwarrior
    Registered Users Posts: 4,054 ✭✭✭muckwarrior


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    All over for Kubica

    https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/891014/Robert-Kubica-2018-seat-Williams-Sergey-Sirotkin/amp

    That's the last time I'm clicking on a link from that site. Just more bullsh1t speculation with no facts.


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    #99
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    muckwarrior wrote: »
    That's the last time I'm clicking on a link from that site. Just more bullsh1t speculation with no facts.

    Google Kubica, there’s more than just that.


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    #100
    Mike Litoris
    Registered Users Posts: 6,038 ✭✭✭Mike Litoris


    muckwarrior wrote: »
    That's the last time I'm clicking on a link from that site. Just more bullsh1t speculation with no facts.


    https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/sirotkin-favourite-williams-drive-kubica-987849/


    This report is a bit more pc!


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    #101
    Spudman_20000
    Registered Users Posts: 1,204 ✭✭✭Spudman_20000


    So Sirotkin was quicker in testing and brings a big pile of cash. Bit of a no brainer for Williams so.

    I would agree that the team is going nowhere without a top experienced driver. Stroll shouldn't be in F1 based on ability and I don't know the first thing about Sirotkin.

    Always feels like a team that is biding its time until the stars align for them.


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    #102
    Adamocovic
    Registered Users Posts: 9,292 ✭✭✭Adamocovic


    Spudman_20000 wrote: »
    So Sirotkin was quicker in testing and brings a big pile of cash. Bit of a no brainer for Williams so.

    I would agree that the team is going nowhere without a top experienced driver. Stroll shouldn't be in F1 based on ability and I don't know the first thing about Sirotkin.

    Always feels like a team that is biding its time until the stars align for them.

    I've been quite critical of Stroll, mainly because I don't like him.

    But surely he's shown enough potential to have earned his spot? I imagine Williams see him as the driver to build around.


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    #103
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    Adamocovic wrote: »
    I've been quite critical of Stroll, mainly because I don't like him.

    But surely he's shown enough potential to have earned his spot? I imagine Williams see him as the driver to build around.

    Bar a lucky 3rd place in Baku thanks to Vettel (penalty) and Hamilton (loose headrest) he wouldn't have stood on the podium.

    Monza was a lucky front row due to the weather.

    I don't like Stroll either, i believe drivers should be there based on talent before money, but sadly it's the reverse and will become increasingly more common.

    Now maybe if he were in a Mercedes alongside Hamilton,something he wanted at Williams,or alongside Vettel at Ferrari could it then be somewhat gauged properly.


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    #104
    Schorpio
    Registered Users Posts: 1,233 ✭✭✭Schorpio


    Spudman_20000 wrote: »
    So Sirotkin was quicker in testing and brings a big pile of cash. Bit of a no brainer for Williams so.

    I would agree that the team is going nowhere without a top experienced driver. Stroll shouldn't be in F1 based on ability and I don't know the first thing about Sirotkin.

    Always feels like a team that is biding its time until the stars align for them.

    I do and I don't understand William's position.

    I mean, yes - the testing times are meaningless to us. But Kubicia was pretty confident after his testing. He said that he was happy, and that his standards are high. And I believe his take on that. He has been so incredibly determined to get back into the car at all, that he clearly is setting the bar high. Hell, some people probably told him that even aiming to get back into one of these cars at all was setting the bar unrealistically high.

    What I (and I'd imagine everyone else) want to know is, by how much do Williams think Sirotkin is faster? If there isn't much between them, and the money was the thing which was the deciding factor, then I think Williams are making a big mistake. The coverage of Robert's return, the inevitable documentary, the clamor for sponsorship - all of that would do nothing but good things for Williams.

    Nevermind the fact that there would probably be some kids who would get swept up in Robert's hype and become lifelong Williams fans.Just look at all the Senna 'fans' who weren't even alive when he was racing.

    On the other hand, maybe Robert was just that slow.....:(


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    #105
    skipper_G
    Registered Users Posts: 14,623 ✭✭✭✭skipper_G


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    Bar a lucky 3rd place in Baku thanks to Vettel (penalty) and Hamilton (loose headrest) he wouldn't have stood on the podium.

    Monza was a lucky front row due to the weather.

    I don't like Stroll either, i believe drivers should be there based on talent before money, but sadly it's the reverse and will become increasingly more common.

    Now maybe if he were in a Mercedes alongside Hamilton,something he wanted at Williams,or alongside Vettel at Ferrari could it then be somewhat gauged properly.

    Was he lucky in Baku? Yes, but you still have to bring the car home.
    Did he deserve to be on the front row in Monza? No, it was penalties for Red Bull that did that, but he was still 4th quickest in wet weather while more experienced drivers ended up in barriers (Grosjean) or 2 seconds slower than their teammates (Hello Bottas)

    I think he improved as the season went on, and still has potential to be a decent driver. I wouldn't say special based on what we've seen so far in F1 but in his rookie year in F3 he was sandwiched between Charles Leclerc & George Russell in 5th (both highly rated). He then won the F3 title second time around, he was in F1 too soon but some of the criticism he gets about the money is OTT in my opinion.


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    #106
    muckwarrior
    Registered Users Posts: 4,054 ✭✭✭muckwarrior


    Even the worst drivers have the odd decent drive. At the end of the day he was comprehensively beaten by an already retired driver who was never quite top-tier even at his peak. Even taking his rookie status into account, he was sub-par this year.


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    #107
    mickdw
    Registered Users Posts: 23,283 ✭✭✭✭mickdw


    I'd say he did far better than either Williams or himself expected for year one.
    Looks decent enough.
    If I remember right, he was under a fair bit of pressure when fighting for second in tricky conditions and did very well. Many drivers have stuck their car in the wall in such circumstances.


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    #108
    Cool_CM
    Registered Users Posts: 4,937 ✭✭✭Cool_CM


    mickdw wrote: »
    I'd say he did far better than either Williams or himself expected for year one.
    Looks decent enough.
    If I remember right, he was under a fair bit of pressure when fighting for second in tricky conditions and did very well. Many drivers have stuck their car in the wall in such circumstances.

    And many much better drivers have stuck their car in the wall in far less testing circumstances!


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    #109
    Harika
    Registered Users Posts: 4,411 ✭✭✭Harika


    Stroll did well in two chaotic circumstances, he did really well here to get through the havoc twice well. As F3 champ he should have the basics while F1 was quite possible to early for him. A season GP2 would have been good for him. Let's see how he does this year, but as long as he keeps this performance up/improves and the sponsorship money is running he should be fine.
    Williams could do with a super quick driver as they now have a lot of funding, Sirotkin was not really someone I saw as winning driver. 3rd three times in GP2 makes him just average.


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    #110
    Schorpio
    Registered Users Posts: 1,233 ✭✭✭Schorpio


    Cool_CM wrote: »
    And many much better drivers have stuck their car in the wall in far less testing circumstances!

    Stroll is okay. Not exceptional, but okay. Yes, he did reasonably well twice this year, but at every other race he was well beaten by Massa.

    I know lots of people say that you have to disregard the money he brings (to an extent), but I'm still confident that if that well dried up, Stroll would be out in the cold faster than you could say 'Frank Williams', and that says it all for me really.

    I know that 'buying' your seat is fairly standard for young drivers, but most do it by being good at the junior stuff and getting sponsors on board. The fact that his family is ridiculously wealthy, which can get him into F1 at the expense of other drivers who have 'earned' the right has always kind of irritated me.


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    #111
    Infoanon
    Registered Users Posts: 4,624 ✭✭✭Infoanon


    Spudman_20000 wrote: »
    So Sirotkin was quicker in testing and brings a big pile of cash. Bit of a no brainer for Williams so.

    What has become of Williams - where the likes of Senna/Prost/Piquet once drove their cars we now have the possible scenario of two novices with money driving the Paddy Lowe inspired Mercedes powered cars.

    It appears the best choice for 2018 was Massa - alas he retired before being fired, while Stroll - who was totally outclassed by Massa far too often and if any doubt look at Abu Dhabi - is for all intensive purposes a novice and certainly not a team leader.

    Renault - where Sirotkin was a test driver - was rated behind Kubica, indeed Kubica was significantly quicker in his first test which started the possible road to a F1 return.

    Ignore the BS about who was fastest if times adjusted - this is all about the money Stroll and Sirotkin can bring - and if not Sirotkin its widely reported that Kvyat will get the ride - he's got money to !

    Sad times for Williams - with McLaren powered by Renault on the face of it Williams will continue to fall in the rankings.


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    #112
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    The adjusted times say Kubica was 1.6 & 1.3 seconds slower respectively.

    I don't know whether i should believe this article in its entirety.

    https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/891836/Robert-Kubica-F1-riddle-Williams-Sergey-Sirotkin-linked-Russian-billionaires-and-Putin


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    #113
    Infoanon
    Registered Users Posts: 4,624 ✭✭✭Infoanon


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    The adjusted times say Kubica was 1.6 & 1.3 seconds slower respectively.

    I don't know whether i should believe this article in its entirety.

    https://www.express.co.uk/sport/f1-autosport/891836/Robert-Kubica-F1-riddle-Williams-Sergey-Sirotkin-linked-Russian-billionaires-and-Putin

    I don't think you should be over reliant on that article - apart from the money aspect.....sad state of affairs


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    #114
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    Infoanon wrote: »
    I don't think you should be over reliant on that article - apart from the money aspect.....sad state of affairs

    This and Vladimir Putin is what it comes down to basically.


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    #115
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    WIlliams will announce second Driver in January

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/133570/williams-driver-announcement-set-for-january


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    #116
    Harika
    Registered Users Posts: 4,411 ✭✭✭Harika


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    This and Vladimir Putin is what it comes down to basically.

    The Russian promoter wants a Russian driver so you can expect the outcome.


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    #117
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    Harika wrote: »
    The Russian promoter wants a Russian driver so you can expect the outcome.

    Sirotkin or Kvyat.


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    #118
    Infoanon
    Registered Users Posts: 4,624 ✭✭✭Infoanon


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    WIlliams will announce second Driver in January

    https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/133570/williams-driver-announcement-set-for-january

    Felipe Massa has been quoted as saying ''William's driver path is financial'

    Which unfortunately I would agree with - if rumours are true the back up plan is Kvyat.........


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    #119
    boardsuser1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,196 ✭✭✭boardsuser1


    Infoanon wrote: »
    Felipe Massa has been quoted as saying ''William's driver path is financial'

    Which unfortunately I would agree with - if rumours are true the back up plan is Kvyat.........

    Kvyat might be the reserve driver.

    Can he do Friday running if that’s the case?

    Putin will probably threaten to pull the race unless there’s a Russian driver every year.


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    #120
    flazio
    Registered Users Posts: 12,862 ✭✭✭✭flazio


    Cork Truck Driver wrote: »
    Kvyat might be the reserve driver.

    Can he do Friday running if that’s the case?

    Putin will probably threaten to pull the race unless there’s a Russian driver every year.
    Don't think I'd miss it much. Sochi hasn't really set the scene alight with classic races.


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    #121
    MuddyDog
    Registered Users Posts: 1,863 ✭✭✭MuddyDog


    Updated odds on this are interesting now given the stories that are around:

    https://www.betstars.eu/#/motor_sports/outrights/6444182


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