I would question "undeniably" - he did great, but finished first having started second, while Vettel finished second having started twentieth - and this starting position was completely out of his control. Regarding Ferrari and Mercedes, to me it's clear Mercedes has globally the better car and the better team management, but Merc's drivers are not that exceptional as was shown today.
Nothing, I just look at the facts - in normal conditions the Mercedes is so superior that they quietly start from the front and win without any threat; they would need to be exceptionnally weak to screw up in such conditions. On the other hand Ferrari's drivers typically struggle with an inferior car and questionable strategies, which is not the most comfortable situation. Today the conditions were unusual and Mercedes had bad strategies - and we saw the effect on their drivers.
Freak weather during a race like today can bring unpredictable result, as we have seen. We agree on that. Interesting to reshuffle the cards from time to time, but I won't draw any conclusion from that
Another attack on someone enthusiastic at a good display by Sebastian and trying to congratulate Mercedes despite their ****ing it right up today, all the while supposedly having no interest in anything but the generic racing......... yeah right... careful incitement as always in those posts, pure and simple.
...and that puts us right in the shoes of Ferrari drivers who have to deal with constant screw ups from the team, race after race, year after year...The pressure at Ferrari is enormous with an entire country calling for your head if you as the driver screw up. Same goes for the team, of course...screw up and they'll call for your head! The working environment when not winning is terrible at Ferrari, sadly. Italians are an emotional folk. Lewis shows time and time again how fragile he is when things don't go exactly according to plan. Hell, he cries on the radio when he's bloody leading the race and someone is a bit too close for him...imagine him at Ferrari? I think they'd disable the mic after the first race.... Vettel obviously struggles mentally at Ferrari. It just shows how incredible mental strength both Schumacher and Kimi had. Vettel tries so hard to perform the car to an even higher standard so mistakes happen...it's a shame. If the car was on par with Mercedes (or within a tenth at least) we could see an entirely different seb, probably back to his Red Bull levels. It would elevate him and the team knowing they can actually fight for a title...but when you drive so hard just to get close to a cruising mercedes...mistakes happen. Vettel endures a lot of stress from tfosi and his detractors, from myself included. Yesterday was a great result and I hope he'll remember this drive of his...
While we are considering how maybe sebs run of bad luck may have finally reversed today, have a little thought for Valtteri Bottles.....insinuated by Sky yesterday, he was fighting back the tears after the race, and specifically after a short debrief conversation with Toto, and they speculate that he may have been told he is surplus to requirements for next year. My guess, Mercedes are putting together the biggest package ever to try to get the rain master max into their garage for next year. If they do, Elton retires I think as I don’t see him wanting to have to prove what his fans claim as he knows he would come up short against a proper talent and racer like Max, and they may promote Ocon internally or look to hire support - who do you all think will form the Mercedes team next year?
Seb showed that he can still deliver. The only top driver who didn't make a mistake yesterday. Ricciardo partnering Lewis would work. Max suits the non-corporate spirit of Red Bull and he should nail at least one WDC with them. He has plenty of years ahead to cruise around in a dominant Merc, which quite frankly I am not looking forward to.
Who should replace Vettel ? Who I would really like is that bloke who came from the last place on the grid yesterday and didn't put a foot wrong. He had the right attitude, overtaking skills and car control. If we could have him guaranteeing to turn up for EVERY race, then I would be very happy indeed. Save us a ton of cash too, which we could spend on developing the cars.
"You don't know when the morphine finally takes hold of you " from Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson -
Careful what you imply willy, why make silly insinuations, why not be direct and say what you think, it may be liberating?
By packing this into quotes he can still try to convince the mods that he is the good one who does not use polemics in discussions It obviously worked out by now.....