2017 FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BELGIAN GRAND PRIX: RACE *** SPOILERS ***

Again, even if I don't like LH at all, that was a very impressive performance by him today!

 

But as long as the Dutch are in Spa cheering for Max and Lewis they are at least not jamming the German Autobahn with their caravan so it is all good

 

They're a bunch of liberal ****s anyways, hence why I got out of there as soon as I could.

 

It was a flawless performance but may I ask what was so impressive staying in front start-finish in a car that was clearly superior on the best place to overtake, the long Kemmel?

 

+1

 

I think this is the beginning of the end of Lewis' reign at undisputed top of Mercedes, Max will take Bottas spot next year because Mercedes cannot let anyone else take Max if he is available. Remember Ferrari had to take Kimi in 2007. It will be interesting to see how this plays out the rest of the year, but I think Max will be a major part of the championship, because if Mercedes do sign him (I think they have to, he is the future), the disruption to the team and Hamilton will bode well for Ferrari.

I was pleasantly surprised at how close Ferrari was even thought it was a power track and Mercedes did break the gentleman's agreement on the engines. The rest of the season should be closer than we have been led to believe.

 

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Just want to say how utterly ridiculous Kimi's penalty was. 5 sec penalty, fine, IF they really had to...but it was on a clear straight, the car was gone, no marshals on track...if he lifted and slowed by 3kph wouldn't make the situation any less dangerous. Utter bull****.

Received 3 penalty points too.

I mean if he went into a blind corner without lifting, this was appropriate.

 

Yes Bottas had a difficult weekend.

Seb said he was sitting behind lewis waiting for him to make a mistake.He also said that the Ferrari was not slower than the MB at any point,except in Qualy.

Maybe he just decided to play the percentage game and not risk trying again to really attack Lewis?

 

Old Man Massa still out paces "the kid" Williams wanted to replace him.

 

Sorry, but I have to dissagree: those are the rules, you have to lift once it is yellow and not once you think it is unsafe. Remember Bianchi? This was exactly what was going wrong and if the drivers do not learn it the other way then a penalty is OK. It is to their own best, not to bother them. All the other did, he did not...

 

Yes, Sir, you may ask.

LH never cracked under the heavy pressure Seb put on him all race.

I was perhaps a bit incomplete in my comment above: to me, the fact that Seb was able to put that kind of pressure on LH all race long was the positive surprise of the day. I am not too gloomy about the other 'fast tracks' coming up. IMO Seb deserved the "driver of the day" award even more than LH. I think we witnessed two flawless performances by two great drivers today.

 

I think Perez did a dyck move on Ocon. He forced him into the wall.

 

Did you actually see the race??? He tried twice really hard and there was no way of getting by him on the long straight despite having a tow!!! The Mercedes engine is simply stonger at the time they need it...Maybe not over a whole race but certainly on one lap in qualy and the start and restarts. Seb was fast enough to follow but never fast enough to actually overtake...

 

+1 Vettel, LH and Bottas lifted. Kimi ignored the double yellows clearly on replay. Sorry but Kimi and Massa made that mistake this weekend. Its racing.

 

This is what I meant: both drove their car flat out and both did not do any mistake. At the end it was the (at least when it counted) faster car that won today. So no need to single out either of the two drivers today.

 

+1 So slow LOL

 

Team principle on SKY after the incident and during the race said they will now manage the race closer for them. They were told not to have impacts and failed. Team orders in effect.

 

We agree on this.

As I said above, my comment was a bit incomplete. Impressive stuff by LH today, even more impressive stuff by Seb.

I feared (before the start of the race) that it would be an easy MB 1-2 today. Quod non. Thanks to the more-than-impressive driving by Seb.

 

That's bad news for Ocon. He seems to get stronger during the race.

The "I was defending my line" statement by Perez was another dyck move. You don't defend your line against a wall in what has to be the most dangerous part of the track. They are both lucky they didn't end up upside down in Eau Rouge at 180 mph.

 

Team blamed Perez live on SKY today with the SKY announcing team who was in contact with FI today 'live from the pitwall' during the race. Perez wont be going anywhere near Ferrari seat in the future LOL

 

Yeh i saw the race. On one attempt Vettel pulled out of the slipstream too early,and on the other Lewis placed his car perfectly.

The ultras are quicker than the softs i believe over 5-10 laps, even though MB had a small power advantage, so i think Vettel decided to settle for 2nd.

Did you actually see the post race interviews with the media?

 

The grip advantage of the ultra-softs was seriously negated by the aero upset of following the Mercedes ahead.

Whilst the Ferrari is a lot better in dirty air than the Mercedes is (a big problem for Bottas toady I suspect), it cannot perform miracles, even on ultra-soft tyres!

Had Seb got ahead of Hamilton, I suspect the Mercedes would have run into serious front end tyre grip issues, but it wasn't to be today.

 

So what does it help if the tyres are faster in the corners when you are not able to overtake on the straight because of a lack of power??? Ask Fernando if you do not believe me

Yes I did...Lewis lifted and that is why Seb had to get out of the slipstream to avoid a collision...Clever but also dangerous at that speed, some might even call it "dirty"

 

Vettel's race was over after the failure to pass at the restart. Vettel knew it as well. He needed some clean air. He didnt get it.

Both drove a really good race.